Infectious Diseases Regulations, 1981

JurisdictionIreland

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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. (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...

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