News

Changes to Stool Testing at Public Health Ontario Laboratory

To: Ottawa Physicians and Nurse Practitioners  
Date: January 5, 2026          
From: Dr. Michelle Foote, Associate Medical Officer of Health
Subject: Changes to Stool Testing at Public Health Ontario Laboratory

Dear Colleagues,

The following information has been summarized from an email (only available in English) from Public Health Ontario (PHO).  

On December 15, 2025, PHO implemented a molecular detection assay (PCR) to replace microscopy for detecting enteric protozoa in stool specimens. The new PCR panel...

Early influenza season and severe impacts on children

To: Ottawa Physicians and Nurse Practitioners
Date: December 15, 2025
From:  Dr. Trevor Arnason, Medical Officer of Health
Subject: Early influenza season and severe impacts on children

Dear Colleagues,

The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) is reporting an early and intense start to flu season leading to unprecedented volumes in the Emergency Department and a higher-than-usual number of flu cases and complications for this time of year. In the first two weeks of December, three children...

Start of Influenza Season Declared in Ottawa 2025-2026

To: Ottawa Physicians and Nurse Practitioners  
Date: December 4, 2025
From: Dr. Laura Bourns, Deputy Medical Officer of Health  
Subject: Start of Influenza Season Declared in Ottawa

Dear Colleagues:

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is now declaring the start of the 2025-2026 influenza season in Ottawa.

For the week ending November 29, the percent of respiratory lab specimens positive for influenza was 20.5.%. The week prior, the percent of respiratory lab specimens positive for influenza was 8.6%. Influenza...

CME: Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease, Jan 23rd, 2026, University of Ottawa CPD

Provider

University of Ottawa’s Office of Continuing Professional Development nd the Division of Nephrology

Overview

One day conference in hypertension and chronic kidney disease for primary care physicians and other health care professionals. This conference has been designed to serve as a refresher in these two areas of practice.

Date / Time / Location or online

• Friday, January 23, 2026 | 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM
• In-person, Elias Banquet Centre, Ottawa

Education Credits

• 6.25 Mainpro+ credits

Overall Learning...

Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Online Learning, Public Health Ontario

Public Health Ontario (PHO) offers a variety of online Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Online Learning modules and resources.

Accessing courses 

• In order to access modules, you must have a My PHO account and be logged in to access the learning management system (LMS) which hosts many of the IPAC education modules.
• PHO has implemented a new registration and login system. To continue accessing your account, re-register using the same email previously linked to your account. 
  • See the FAQ page for...