Public Health Update

Professional Resources & Development Opportunities

1. Influenza and Respiratory Infection Surveillance Resources 2024-25, Public Health Ontario (PHO), variety of new and updated resources, including:
   • Update to the Ontario Respiratory Virus Tool (ORVT) to provide more comprehensive data on respiratory virus activity in Ontario for the 2024-2025 season (updated weekly on Fridays at 11:30 a.m., with data up until the previous Saturday)
   • Updated Integrated Respiratory Virus Risk Indicators surveillance report.
   • New best-practice resource, developed by the...
     
     

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Radon Testing: An Important Health Check for Patients Who Smoke

November is Radon Action Month. Radon is a ubiquitous invisible, odourless and tasteless radioactive gas found naturally in the ground and it can enter into homes through cracks, vents and drains in the lowest level of a home. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer (after smoking) and the leading cause of lung cancer for people who have never smoked.

People who smoke – and people regularly exposed to second-hand smoke – who also have long-term exposure to elevated levels of radon have a...

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Registration Open: 74th Annual Refresher Course For Family Physicians, University of Ottawa

Provider

University of Ottawa’s Office of Continuing Professional Development

This comprehensive course is designed to provide family physicians and other health-care providers with relevant and recent information about approaches to the diagnosis and management of conditions across the breadth of family medicine in both rural and urban settings. Each day consists of a combination of lectures and workshop sessions designed specifically for family physicians and healthcare providers which...

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Seasonal Influenza and Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) Administration in Long-term Care and Retirement Homes

Individuals 65 years of age and older and those living in group settings are among the populations who are at heightened risk of contracting influenza and who are more likely to experience severe outcomes due to weakened immune systems and underlying chronic health conditions. The influenza vaccine serves as the most effective defense against the virus by decreasing the risk of serious infection and flu-related complications that can require hospitalization, while helping to prevent health care...

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Updated Ottawa Public Health Hepatitis C Case Management

In response to the availability of reflex HCV RNA testing in Ontario, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has updated its protocol for managing reports of positive hepatitis C virus (HCV) test results. 

Screening for HCV typically begins with HCV serology, testing the blood for the presence of HCV antibodies that indicate an individual has been exposed to the virus. Confirmatory testing is completed with HCV RNA testing, which detects presence of the virus in the blood and indicates...

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