What are communicable diseases?
Sometimes called
infectious diseases, they are a group of diseases caused by germs (i.e.
bacteria, viruses, etc.) that may cause an individual to become sick.
The illness may spread to the community.
What is Public
Health’s role in communicable disease?
River
Valley
Health’s Public Health Program is responsible for delivering the Communicable
Disease Program under the Health Act.
Their major areas of
service are:
1.
Partnerships with hospitals, long-term care facilities and other health
institutions:
·
representing
the program on infection control committees
·
management
communicable disease outbreaks
·
receiving
reports of communicable diseases on individuals diagnosed in the
hospital or at home
·
participating in the development and revision of outbreak plans
·
consultation,
case management and education to health care workers
·
providing
local epidemiological information
·
surveillance
·
collecting
data/information on diseases
·
monitoring and
analyzing disease trends in the community
For information on communicable diseases in Canada, visit the Public Health
Agency of Canada website:
www.phac-aspc.gc.ca.
2.
Community involvement:
·
providing a
24-hour on-call system
·
receiving and
investigating communicable disease reports according to the NB
Health Act
·
analyzing and reporting communicable disease
data to the New Brunswick Department of Health
·
following up
on reports of Influenza-like illness
·
identifying
and managing contact with a communicable disease
·
providing
community education, resources, consultation and partnerships
·
pandemic
influenza planning with the province and federal government
For more information about our regional
programs and services:
·
For our Upper Valley
locations (Plaster Rock, Perth-Andover, Nackawic, Bath
and Woodstock)
call: 1-888-829-6444
·
For our Lower Valley
locations ( Fredericton, Boiestown, Doaktown,
Chipman, Stanley, Harvey, McAdam,
Minto and Oromocto) call: (506) 453-5200