Reportable Diseases

Some diseases, poisonings and infections must be reported to public health officials. They are called "reportable diseases."

To be reportable, the disease, poisoning or infection must meet the following conditions:

There is a risk that other people in the population will catch them. For example, this is the case with contagious diseases or infections.
They have been medically recognized as being able to cause serious health problems to the people affected.

One reason for required reporting is to protect the population from public health threats, that is, against epidemics. It is a process that allows officials to prevent health threats, keep watch over the health of the population, and avoid the quick spread of certain diseases.

These are some examples of diseases

, poisonings and infections that are reportable diseases:

syphilis
chlamydia infection
measles
poisoning following a major gas leak
HIV infection or AIDS, only if the person infected has received or given blood or tissues

For a complete list of reportable diseases, visit the website of the ministry of health and social services(website section in French only).

Notifying Officials About a Reportable Disease

When doctors or medical laboratories diagnose a reportable disease, they have a duty to let public health officials know.

Reportable diseases can be reported to the following public health officials:

regional public health directors
provincial public health director
minister of health and social services

These are some examples of the information that doctors, laboratories and other authorized personnel must provide to public health officials:

name of the reportable disease
name of the person with the disease, gender, date of birth, address and postal code, telephone number and health-insurance card number (medicare card number)
date of laboratory tests and results, if relevant
information about the health professional or laboratory that reported the disease (name, licence number, telephone numbers)