LegalizeS.I. No. 390/1981 - Infectious Diseases Regulations 1981
This is the act as published. Later amendments are not folded into the text below: each one is a separate act in this repository and an entry in this law's history.
21 amending acts · 2026-05-19, S.I. No. 209/2026 - Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2026
The Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by sections 5 and 29 of the Health Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947) and by Section 31 of the said Act as amended by section 34 of the Health Act, 1953 (No. 26 of 1953) hereby makes the following Regulations:—
1.
These Regulations may be cited as the Infectious Diseases Regulations, 1981.
2.
In these Regulations:—
the word “carrier” means a person who, without apparent symptoms of an infectious disease, harbours the specific micro-organisms of such disease and is a probable source of infection with such disease;
the expression “medical officer of health” means as appropriate a Director of Community Care and Medical Officer of Health, the Dublin Medical Officer of Health, any Senior Area Medical Officer or Area Medical Officer of a health board;
the expression “infectious disease hospital” means a hospital provided and maintained for the treatment of infectious diseases;
the expression “infectious disease unit” means a unit in or attached to a hospital provided and maintained for the treatment of infectious diseases;
the expression “health officer” means an officer of a health board authorised by the health board to enforce any provisions of these Regulations;
the expression “medical practitioner” means a person whose name appears in the General Register of Medical Practitioners under the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978 (No. 4 of 1978);
“the Minister” means the Minister for Health.
3.
These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of December, 1981.
4.
The Infectious Diseases Regulations, 1948 ( S.I. No. 99 of 1948 ) are hereby revoked.
5.
These Regulations shall, subject to any arrangement for joint action by health boards, be enforced in the functional area of each health board by that health board.
6.
The diseases listed in the Schedule to these Regulations are hereby specified to be infectious diseases and the expression “infectious disease” shall be construed as meaning any disease so listed.
7.
All the infectious diseases listed in the Schedule to these Regulations shall be excluded from the application of Sections 33 , 34 , 35 and 36 of the Health Act, 1947 .
8.
All the infectious diseases listed in the Schedule to these Regulations, except acute anterior poliomyelitis, cholera, diphtheria, plague, smallpox, tuberculosis, typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, typhus and viral haemorrhagic diseases (including lassa fever and marburg disease) shall be excluded from the application of Section 38 of the Health Act, 1947 as amended by Section 35 of the Health Act 1953 .
9.
All the infectious diseases listed in the Schedule to these Regulations, except acute anterior poliomyelitis, diphtheria, dysentery, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, typhus and viral haemorrhagic diseases (including lassa fever and marburg disease) shall be excluded from the application of Section 44 of the Health Act 1947 , as amended by Section 36 of the Health Act 1953 .
10.(1) A health board shall make arrangements for the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in persons in the functional area of that health board.
- (2) Subject to the provisions of sub-articles (3) and (4) of this Article, no charge shall be made by a health board for any services (including institutional services) provided by it in the performance of its duties under sub-article (1) of this Article.
- (3) Where institutional services, which are provided in a private or semi-private ward or which are otherwise of a type for which it is customary to make an extra charge, are provided for a person suffering from an infectious disease at the request of such person or of the person in charge of him, the provisions of sub-article (2) of this Article shall not apply.
- (4) Nothing in sub-article (2) of this Article shall affect any agreement with an authority in another State for the making of payments to health boards for the treatment of infectious diseases.
On becoming aware, whether from a notification or intimation under these Regulations or otherwise, of a case or a suspected case of an infectious disease or of a probable source of infection with such disease, a medical officer of health, or a health officer on the advice of a medical officer of health, shall make such enquiries and take such steps as are necessary or desirable for investigating the nature and source of such infection, for preventing the spread of such infection and for removing conditions favourable to such infection.
A medical officer of health shall take such measures as he may consider appropriate, or as the Minister may direct, with regard to the custody, transport and disposal of the body of a person which is a probable source of infection with an infectious disease.
(1) A health board may, from time to time in accordance with the advice of a medical officer of health and shall, if required by the Minister, do all or any of the following things:—
- (a) purchase and keep a supply of such agents and ancillary instruments and equipment as may be approved by the Minister for ascertaining whether or not a person is infected with an infectious disease or for determining susceptibility to or for increasing resistance against or for producing immunity from infection with any infectious disease;
- (b) make, subject to the Minister's approval, arrangements for the administration of any such agent to persons in its functional area;
- (c) supply any medical practitioner practising in the functional area of such health board with any such agent on such reasonable terms or conditions as the health board may determine.
Subject to the provisions of Article 15 of these Regulations, a medical practitioner, as soon as he becomes aware or suspects that a person on whom he is in professional attendance is suffering from or is the carrier of an infectious disease shall—
- (a) forthwith transmit a written notification to a medical officer of health and
- (b) further in a case of acute anterior poliomyelitis, bacterial meningitis (including meningoccal septicaemia), cholera, ornithosis, plague, smallpox, typhus, viral haemorrhagic diseases (including lassa fever and marburg disease) or yellow fever, or where he is of the opinion that there is a serious outbreak of infectious disease in a locality, give immediate preliminary notification thereof to a medical officer of health.
(1) A medical practitioner who is a medical officer of an infectious disease hospital or an infectious disease unit shall forthwith transmit to a medical officer of health a notification of any case of infectious disease or of any carrier of an infectious disease occuring in his practice as such medical officer, where—
- (a) the patient has been admitted to the infectious disease hospital or infectious disease unit as a suspected case of infectious disease or as a suspected carrier without any definite diagnosis and the disease, or the fact that the person is a carrier, is first definitely diagnosed after admission of the patient to the infectious disease hospital or infectious disease unit or
- (b) the disease or the fact that the person is a carrier is diagnosed after the admission of the patient to the infectious disease hospital or infectious disease unit and such diagnosis constitutes an alteration of a definite diagnosis made before admission or the patient to the infectious disease hospital or infectious disease unit or
- (c) the disease was contracted by a person in the infectious disease hospital or infectious disease unit.
- (2) Where a medical practitioner who is a medical officer of an infectious disease hospital or infectious disease unit is required under sub-article (1) of this Article to notify a case of acute anterior poliomyelitis, bacterial meningitis (including meningococcal septicaemia), cholera, ornithosis, plague, smallpox, typhus, viral haemorrhagic diseases (including lassa fever and marburg disease) or yellow fever, or where he is of the opinion that there is a serious outbreak of infectious disease in a locality he shall give immediate preliminary notification thereof to a medical officer of health.
- (3) Where a patient is admitted as a suspected case of infectious disease or as a suspected carrier to an infectious disease hospital or infectious disease unit and he is found on examination neither to be suffering from nor to be a carrier of any infectious disease, a medical practitioner who is a medical officer in charge of such patient shall transmit a notification to that effect to a medical officer of health.
A registrar of births and deaths shall send to a medical officer of health such returns of deaths from infectious diseases as may be specified by the Minister.
(1) Where, under these Regulations, a medical practitioner
- (a) sends a notification that a person is suffering from or is a carrier of an infectious disease or
- (b) sends a notification or intimation that he suspects that a person is suffering from or is a carrier of an infectious disease and such suspicion is subsequently confirmed,
the health board shall pay him the appropriate fee in respect of such notification or intimation.
- (2) The appropriate fee shall be determined by the Minister from time to time, with the consent of the Minister for Finance.
(1) A medical officer of health shall furnish to the Minister by the Wednesday of each week a return of the cases of infectious diseases notified to him in the week ending on the previous Saturday.
- (2) A medical officer of health shall furnish to the Minister as soon as possible a detailed report on each case of such infectious disease as the Minister may specify from time to time.
A person who refuses to comply with a requirement or direction given or a request for information made in pursuance of any of the provisions of these Regulations shall be guilty of a contravention of these Regulations.
(1) A health board shall keep such records as may be directed by the Minister from time to time in relation to the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under these Regulations.
- (2) Any records kept in pursuance of this Article and any notification made to a medical officer of health under these Regulations shall be treated in a confidential manner and, save as provided in sub-article (5) of this Article, shall not, without the consent in writing of the patient, be disclosed in such a manner as to make identification of the patient possible.
- (3) When any record, report, notification or intimation or any other communication in relation to a person who is, or is suspected to be, suffering from, or is a carrier of, infectious disease is sent by post, it shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope.
- (4) Nothing in this Article shall be construed as preventing the inspection by a medical practitioner authorised by the health board, or by the Minister, of the records kept in pursuance of this Article where the consent of the patient has been obtained.
- (5) Where the Minister certifies in respect of records compiled under this Article in relation to any particular patient that it would not in his opinion be in the interest of the common good to seek the consent referred to in sub-articles (2) and (4) of this Article, a medical practitioner authorised by the Minister may inspect such records.
- (6) Where a certificate under sub-article (5) of this Article has been given in respect of any particular records in relation to a particular patient by the Minister the patient shall be informed forthwith of the giving of such certificate.
- (7) The consent referred to in sub-articles (2) and (4) of this Article may, in the case of a minor, be given by a parent or guardian.
A health board shall comply with any directions given from time to time by the Minister as to the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under these Regulations.
SCHEDULE Diseases specified to be Infectious Diseases
Acute anterior poliomyelitis
Acute encephalitis
Acute viral meningitis
Anthrax
Bacillary dysentery
Bacterial meningitis (including meningococcal septicaemia)
Brucellosis
Cholera
Diphtheria
Food poisoning (bacterial other than salmonella)
Gastro enteritis (when contracted by children under 2 years of age)
Infectious mononucleosis
Influenzal pneumonia
Legionnaires Disease
Leptospirosis
Malaria
Measles
Ornithosis
Plague
Rabies
Rubella
Salmonellosis (other than typhoid or paratyphoid)
Smallpox
Tetanus
Tuberculosis
Typhoid and Paratyphoid
Typhus
Venereal diseases—gonococcal infections
—syphilis
—other (including non-specific urethritis, chancroid, granuloma inguinale, and lympho-granuloma venereum)
Viral haemorrhagic diseases (including lassa fever and marburg disease)
Viral hepatitis: Type A
Type B
Type unspecified
Whooping cough
Yellow fever.
| GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Health, this 13th day of November, 1981. | |
| EILEEN DESMOND, | |
| Minister for Health. | |
| The Minister for Finance consents to sub-article (2) of article 17. | |
| Dated this 13th day of November, 1981. | |
| JOHN BRUTON, | |
| Minister for Finance. |
EXPLANATORY NOTE.
(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)
These Regulations declare certain diseases to be infectious diseases and require notification of cases of the diseases to the medical officers of the appropriate Health Board. The Regulations provide for the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, the prevention of infectious diseases, the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases and for removing condition which favour the spread of infection. The Regulations also provide for payment of a fee to medical practitioners who notify cases of infectious diseases and for the keeping of records.
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