[Experiences with the Swiss mandatory disease notification].

Advantages and setbacks of the existing Swiss disease notification system are reviewed. The public takes interest in the notification data output. The voluntary sentinels provide useful early warning. Currently, 60 conditions are notifiable. It is intended to lower this number to < 30. Other measures to upgrade the system include annual review and publication of an updated list of notifiable diseases, limitation to an essential core of parameters collected from physicians on initial and follow-up questionnaires, and practical advice on diagnostic and control measures provided for in questionnaires for the infectious disease under query.