Resources Reportable Diseases List Fact Sheets Mandatory Blood Testing Best Practice Manual: Hand Hygiene (Public Health Ontario) Best Practice Manual: Cleaning, Disinfection and Sterilization of medical equipment/devices (Public Health Ontario) Public Health Emergency Preparedness Protocol (Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, 2008) York Region Monthly Reportable Disease Reports Public Health Ontario Infectious Diseases Surveillance Reports List of Contacts Tell us ...

Emergency service workers, including paramedics, firefighters and police officers and others may be exposed to infectious or communicable diseases in the course of their duties.

This health education resource for designated emergency service officers provides information about certain communicable diseases and their transmission, strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to these diseases in emergency situations and how to manage various exposures to minimize the health impacts on emergency services workers.

• Overview and Roles & Responsibilities 
• Understanding the chain of transmission 
• Diseases that spread through blood and body fluids, including:
  • Hepatitis B
  • Hepatitis C
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Level of risk
  • Situations where transmission of bloodborne pathogens can occur
  • Mandatory Blood Testing Act
• Diseases that spread through respiratory secretions, including:
  • Influenza
  • Group A streptococcus
  • Meningococcal disease
  • Tuberculosis (airborne spread)
• Diseases that spread through other contact, including
  • Tetanus
  • Rabies
  • Viral hemorrhagic fevers
  • C. difficile and antibiotic resistant organisms (VRE, MRSA and ESBL)
• Precautions to reduce the risk of transmission, including:
  • Immunization
  • Hand hygiene
  • Routine practices and personal protective equipment
  • Cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing
• Managing possible exposures and notification process
• Incident assessment form