Alanna Leffley
Each year, thousands of people in Ontario suffer illnesses and sometimes die from these diseases. Public Health plays a key role in the surveillance and control of communicable diseases caused by parasites, bacteria and viruses.
The emergence of a new infection, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), this past year demonstrated the need for continued vigilance in our surveillance of communicable diseases, both known and unknown, on an international, national and local level. It is you, our community partners, who are key in recognizing and reporting communicable diseases to the Public Health Unit. Through surveillance and monitoring of communicable disease trends in the population, we can gauge the impact of these diseases on human health over time, as well as effectively plan prevention and intervention strategies to reduce disease in the community.
The Communicable Disease Report for Grey Bruce provides readers with a “first look” at disease rates in our area by presenting information on selected diseases for the years 1992 through to 1999 for Ontario, and from 1992 through to 2001 for Grey-Bruce. Communicable diseases found in this report include sexually transmitted and blood-borne diseases (such as AIDS, chlamydia, hepatitis C), vaccine-preventable diseases (such as measles, influenza), diseases spread by food and water (such as campylobacter, e. coli, salmonella), diseases spread by close personal contact (such as TB) as well as animal exposures and rabies. The information contained in this report is primarily intended for health professionals and organizations dealing with communicable diseases.
Highlights from this report will be featured in upcoming issues of Public Health Notes.
If you would like a copy of this report please contact:
Alanna Leffley
Public Health Epidemiologist
Grey Bruce Health Unit
(519)376-9420 ext. 260