Infection protection Report Doctors

The aim of infection protection is to prevent communicable diseases in humans, detect infections at an early stage and prevent their spread.

The Infection Protection Act (IfSG) obliges doctors to report pathogens and non-named reports of pathogen detection. A distinction is made between named reports of pathogens and non-named reports of pathogen detection.

Named pathogens

• Doctors and laboratories for medical diagnostics are obliged to provide the local health authorities responsible for medical practices with reports of abnormal findings if the pathogens named in the law are diagnosed during an examination or sample. The registration forms required for this are provided by the respective state authorities.

Unnamed pathogen detections:

• The pathogen detections mentioned in § 7 Abs. 3 IfSG are not to be reported by name directly to the Robert Koch Institute. The RKI provides special laboratory registration forms for this purpose.

In addition, doctors must also report:

• gastroenteritis (if it has occurred in several people or in people working in the food sector)
• the suspicion of vaccine damage
• contact with an animal suffering from rabies
• the occurrence of another threatening illness with serious danger to the general public.

The doctor must report this to the health department of the place of residence of the person concerned. Contact persons for the necessary forms are the responsible health authorities.