Notification Pathway for Special Pathogens                                           

Guidance for timely notification and coordinated response

 

The Ministry of Health has released a Notification Pathway for Special Pathogens to support a timely and coordinated response when a suspected special pathogen case is identified. This pathway outlines who to notify, how notification occurs, and how provincial coordination is initiated following an initial report. 

 

What is a special pathogen?

A special pathogen is a term used to encompass known Risk Group 4 pathogens as well as unknown or emerging pathogens that are highly infectious, capable of human-to-human transmission, and likely to cause severe disease with high mortality when effective prevention and treatment measures may not be available. 

 

Key steps in the notification pathway

  • Infectious disease physician completes a risk assessment, identifies a potential special pathogen case, and implements appropriate infection prevention and control protocols. 

  • If expertise is not available to complete a risk assessment, organizations may contact their Public Health Unit and/or the Public Health Ontario Laboratory Customer Service Centre for support. 

  • Notify the Ministry of Health through the 24/7 Health Care Provider Hotline and notify your Public Health Unit. 

  • Within 30 minutes of notification, the Ministry of Health convenes a call with relevant health partners to assess the situation and determine next steps.

 

Immediate notification required

If your organization suspects a case of a special pathogen, immediately notify the Ministry of Health through the 24/7 Health Care Provider Hotline at 1-866-212-2272. Early notification is critical to initiate coordination across provincial and federal health systems.

 

Resources (PDFs)

  • Notification Pathway for Special Pathogens (PDF)

  • Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) Symptom and Exposure Risk Assessment Tool
    Access the tool

 

For questions, contact: EOCOperations.moh@ontario.ca.