Health care (e.g., hospitals, community clinics) |
Provide prompt diagnosis and treatment Report promptly to local public health Institute appropriate infection prevention and control measures Support assessing close contacts (via collection of nasopharyngeal and throat swabs) Support follow-up of any health care workers identified as close contacts who require contact management
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Public health (e.g., local, provincial, national) |
Local public health: Begin contact management immediately Conduct local surveillance Support collection of swabs and immunization of contacts Lead community contact management Lead community messaging, if required
Provincial public health (e.g., Ministry of Health, Public Health Ontario): Coordinate access to diphtheria antitoxin Provide advice or consultation to local public health Conduct provincial disease surveillance Coordinate notification to Public Health Agency of Canada, as needed
National public health (e.g., Public Health Agency of Canada): Conduct national surveillance activities Liaise with other national governments for contact tracing in home country, as needed
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Laboratory (e.g., front-line, provincial reference laboratory, National Microbiology Laboratory) |
Front-line laboratories: Provincial reference microbiology laboratories: Confirm identification, and if determined to be Corynebacterium diphtheriae, submit isolate to National Microbiology Laboratory Process primary samples to culture specifically for C. diphtheriae when suspected (e.g., contacts of a case)
National Microbiology Laboratory: All levels: Provide advice regarding testing, turnaround times, interpretation
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