Docusign Envelope ID: F5FE86AD-D04F-48B7-A0E0-2E3FA8F20BD2
New Zealand Institute
for Public Health and
Forensic Science
5 February 2026
By Ema
il: [FYI request #33194 email]
Dear Erika,
Official Information Request – Monthly Notifiable Diseases Surveillance Report
I refer to your official information request received by the New Zealand Institute for Public Health
and Forensic Science dated 9 December 2025 for the following information:
“I note the monthly notifiable disease surveillance report used to have ethnicity and immunization
status. For example for measles:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130504115614/http://surv.esr.cri.nz/PDF_surveillance/MeaslesRp
t/2012/201212MeaslesRpt.pdf
And Whooping cough / pertussis
https://web.archive.org/web/20150124083805/https://surv.esr.cri.nz/PDF_surveillance/Pertussis
Rpt/2013/20131PertussisRpt.pdf
Would you kindly share the ethnicity and immunisation status information on the monthly
notifiable disease surveillance report?
If they are no longer published, would you please share the minutes, memos correspondence,
emails etc regarding the decision to remove this information.
An email to clarify your request was sent on 23 January 2026 which was followed up on 26 January
2026 which also advised of an extension to your request. We received your response to our request
for clarification on 28 January and you advised the following:
“This request is for all the notifiable diseases please which you used to report the immunization
status and ethnicity on. It includes pertussis and measles, but also all the other diseases that used
to be reported on.”
Our Response:
The monthly notifiable disease surveillance reports have never included ethnicity and
immunisation data. The above links are to reports that were produced in relation to measles and
pertussis outbreaks in 2012. These are not regular outputs, instead, they are produced only during
a national outbreak.
The current pertussis outbreak began in 2024 and regular reports are published here
-PHF Science
Pertussis Reports. Immunisation and ethnicity data are included in these reports.
There are no regular measles reports published currently. PHF Science does have a measles
dashboard which is available here
- https://www.phfscience.nz/digital-library/measles-
dashboard/. This contains ethnicity and immunisation data for 2019–2024. Data for 2025 will be
uploaded to this dashboard shortly.
New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science Limited
Kenepuru Science Centre: 34 Kenepuru Drive, Kenepuru, Porirua 5022 | PO Box 50348, Porirua 5240, New Zealand
www.phfscience.nz T: +64 4 914 0700
Docusign Envelope ID: F5FE86AD-D04F-48B7-A0E0-2E3FA8F20BD2
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely,
Yvonne Galloway
Technical Lead Epidemiology
