Public Health Alerts

Changes to Vaccine Requirements for Children Previously Immunized with Oral Poliovirus Vaccine

To: Ottawa Physicians and Nurse Practitioners
Date: July 3, 2024
From: Dr. Trevor Arnason, Deputy Medical Officer of Health
Subject: Changes to Vaccine Requirements for Children Previously Immunized with Oral Poliovirus Vaccine

Dear Colleagues,  

Please be aware of updated provincial polio vaccine recommendations for children previously immunized with oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Please note that these changes impact children (ages 0 - 17 yrs) vaccinated internationally (e.g., newcomers to Canada) as...

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Switch to Pentacel® in Publicly Funded Immunization Program

Date: June 11, 2024
From: Dr. Trevor Arnason, Associate Medical Officer of Health
Subject: Switch to Pentacel® in Publicly Funded Immunization Program

Dear Colleagues,

The province has informed Ottawa Public Health that starting sometime in July 2024, the Pediacel® vaccine product will be replaced by Pentacel® in the provincially funded vaccine supply. Both the Pediacel® vaccine and the Pentacel® vaccine are pentavalent vaccines from the same manufacturer used to protect against diphtheria, tetanus,...

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Duty to report animal bites and animal contacts

To: Ottawa Physicians and Nurse Practitioners
Date: May 27, 2024
From: Dr. Monir Taha, Associate Medical Officer of Health

Dear Colleagues, 

Ottawa Public Health is reaching out with an annual reminder to partners to report all potential rabies exposures as required by Regulation 557 (COMMUNICABLE DISEASES – GENERAL) under the Health Protection and Promotion Act:   

2. (1) A physician, registered nurse in the extended class, veterinarian, police officer or any other person who has information concerning...

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Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) Shigella

To: Ottawa Physicians and Nurse Practitioners
Date: April 18, 2024
From: Dr. Trevor Arnason, Associate Medical Officer of Health

Ottawa Public Health is alerting you to cases of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella diagnosed in Ottawa.

While the proportion of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Shigella sonnei or flexneri infections has been stable in Ontario over the last 5 years (at around 50% of shigellosis cases reported), XDR Shigella sonnei cases are being detected with increasing frequency including in...

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Increase in Mpox Cases in Ontario

To: Ottawa Physicians and Nurse Practitioners
Date: April 17, 2024
From: Dr. Laura Bourns, Associate Medical Officer of Health

Dear Colleagues,
This communication is to keep you up to date on the current trends in mpox activity and recommendations regarding mpox vaccination.

Mpox cases

• Ontario continues to experience an increase in mpox activity since mid-January 2024. Ongoing local transmission within Ontario continues to be a concern; only 15.7% of cases report travel outside Ontario during their...

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