The Ministry of Health has issued new regulations on disease surveillance.

VTV.vn - The Ministry of Health's new circular, detailing the monitoring, warning, and handling of infectious disease outbreaks, will take effect from July 1, 2026.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan has just signed and issued Circular 15/2026/TT-BYT detailing some provisions of the Law on Disease Prevention, notably the regulations on surveillance in the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

According to the circular, the disease surveillance information system has the function of receiving, updating, managing, analyzing, and sharing data related to infectious diseases, non-infectious diseases, mental disorders, nutrition, and injuries in the community.

Relevant agencies, organizations, healthcare facilities, and individuals are responsible for updating, providing, and sharing data that is accurate, complete, and timely; while also complying with regulations on cybersecurity and personal data protection.

The circular stipulates that the subjects of surveillance include people with infectious diseases, suspected cases, carriers of the disease, contacts, and cases of death suspected to be due to infectious diseases.

In addition, surveillance also applies to pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi; as well as reservoirs, disease vectors, and environmental and social risk factors.

According to the new regulations, there are three types of disease surveillance: indicator-based surveillance, targeted surveillance, and event-based surveillance.

In this context, event-based surveillance will collect, screen, and verify warning signs from the community, social media, the media, and the healthcare system regarding the risk of disease outbreaks.

The circular also outlines four groups of criteria for classifying infectious diseases, including the severity of the disease, its transmissibility, specific interventions such as vaccines or treatments, and the level of prevalence and risk of causing epidemics or pandemics.

Notably, a disease emergency is defined when an outbreak becomes particularly severe, spreading across multiple provinces or across borders, significantly impacting public health, and exceeding the response capacity at level 3.

Circular 15/2026/TT-BYT will officially take effect from July 1, 2026.

Source: https://vtv.vn/bo-y-te-ban-hanh-quy-dinh-moi-ve-giam-sat-dich-benh-100260521213133662.htm