[Basic principles of infection surveillance].

This paper reviews the ideas of Robert Koch in the context of infection surveillance of typhoid fever in Trier in 1902 and the actual epidemiological situation of infectious diseases in the world. The plan of the EC Commission for a network for surveillance and control of infectious diseases after the treaty Maastricht is presented. Definition, aim and critical points of infectious surveillance are discussed. Problem deficits in Germany associated with infection surveillance are also dealt with.