In the UK, reporting is now a professional duty, whereas previously failure to report was a crime. Potential sanctions include referral to the GMC, rather than prosecution, or a law suit from a patient whose illness could have been prevented if the clinician had notified appropriately. These revisions to the public health legislation are a positive step in assisting the Health Protection Agency, with the support of doctors, to carry out its role to protect the public more effectively.The reality is at present that few cases of notifiable diseases are notified. Often doctors are unaware of their duty to notify or of the process for doing so. Some doctors notify when they are aware of the need for public health action (e.g. meningococcal disease), or where confirmatory testing depends on the diagnosis being reported (e.g. measles, mumps); however, many are unaware of the urgency.