Summary of notifiable diseases--United States, 2002.

Abstract : This publication contains summary tables of the official statistics for the reported occurrence of nationally notifiable diseases in the United States for 1997. These statistics are collected and compiled from reports to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS), which is operated by CDC in collaboration with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). Because the dates of onset or diagnosis for notifiable diseases are not always reported, these surveillance data are presented by the week they were reported to CDC by public health officials in state and territorial health departments. These data are finalized and published in the MMWR Summary of Notifiable Diseases, United States for use by state and local health departments; schools of medicine and public health; communications media; local, state, and federal agencies; and other agencies or persons interested in following the trends of reportable diseases in the United States. The annual publication of the Summary also documents which diseases are considered national priorities for notification and the annual number of cases of such diseases.