In terms of In terms of infection protection, notifiable communicable diseases and notifiable laboratory medical evidence of pathogens are reported to the public health department. The aim is to prevent communicable diseases in humans, detect infections at an early stage and prevent them from spreading.

The Infection Protection Act (IfSG) obliges doctors in medical practices and hospitals as well as doctors in examination offices and laboratories to report to the health authorities. A distinction is made between named notifications of diseases, evidence of pathogens and vaccination damage and non-named notifications of certain evidence of pathogens

Notifications by name:

Doctors and laboratories for medical diagnostics in particular, but also certain institutions and companies, are obliged to report the diseases and pathogen evidence listed in the law or corresponding suspected cases to the locally responsible health authorities. Any adverse health effects following a vaccination that go beyond the usual extent of a vaccination reaction must also be reported to the health authority by the doctor. The reporting forms required for this are provided by the respective state authorities. The notification by the doctor or laboratory must be made by name, i.e. with the name and address of the person concerned, so that the public health department can check the facts and take infection control measures. The data is transmitted via the state office to the Robert Koch Institute (diseases and pathogens) or the Paul Ehrlich Institute (vaccination damage) on a non-named basis.

Non-named notifications:

The pathogen detections mentioned in § 7 para. 3 IfSG, e.g. HIV, are reported by the laboratory directly to the Robert Koch Institute without naming the person concerned. The RKI provides special laboratory reporting forms for this purpose.

The public health department offers free advice and, in certain cases, free tests (e.g. HIV test).