Tartuntatautilain

Tartuntatautilaki, in Finnish, refers to the Infectious Diseases Act, Finland’s core public health legislation governing prevention and control of communicable diseases. The act sets the framework for surveillance, reporting, and intervention to limit the spread of infections. It obliges health care providers, laboratories, and other actors to report specified notifiable diseases and outbreaks to authorities, facilitating timely epidemiological surveillance by THL and local health care authorities.

The core powers include investigations of suspected cases, contact tracing, and the ability to impose or recommend measures designed to prevent transmission, such as isolation of patients, quarantine of contacts, and temporary restrictions on events, travel, or institutional operations. The act also covers data handling and confidentiality, ensuring that information is processed in compliance with privacy protections.

Administration and scope: The law is enacted and applied by national and local health authorities and is overseen in connection with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). It is harmonized with EU public health rules and may be amended to address new infectious disease threats.

Impact: Tartuntatautilaki provides the legal basis for Finland’s disease surveillance systems, outbreak investigations, and rapid-response measures during health emergencies, and it works in tandem with other health legislation to protect population health.