The collation of information allows the authorities to monitor the disease, and provides early warning of possible outbreaks.
Many governments have enacted regulations for reporting of both human and animal (generally livestock) diseases.
The current (1969) regulations are rather limited with a focus on reporting of three main diseases: cholera, yellow fever and plague.
The revised International Health Regulations 2005 broadens this scope and is no longer limited to the notification of specific diseases.
Whilst it does identify a number of specific diseases, it also defines a limited set of criteria to assist in deciding whether an event is notifiable to WHO.
This broad notification requirement aims at detecting, early on, all public health events that could have serious and international consequences, and preventing or containing them at source through an adapted response before they spread across borders.
Within Australia the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry regulates the notification of infectious animal diseases.
[9][10] The Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System is a searchable database tool provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada.