Severe invasive group A streptococcal disease, Norway, 2000

The modernised national notification system for infectious diseases in Norway (Meldingssystem for smittsomme sykdommer, MSIS) was implemented on a national level in 1975. Cases of systemic group A streptococcal (GAS) disease (diagnosed by blood culture or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) positives, or both) have been notifiable since the beginning. With the introduction of the Infectious Diseases Control Act in 1995, severe invasive GAS disease (including necrotising fasciitis) with or without a positive blood culture was included in the MSIS database.