Communicable diseases

Communicable disease control

A communicable disease is an illness that can be contracted through contact with a human or animal, their discharges, or contaminated items carrying an infectious agent. An infectious agent is a disease causing organism, such as a bacteria, virus or parasite. Once a person has contracted a communicable disease they can then pass it on to others.

Environmental Health Officers at Northern Health routinely monitor illnesses that are transmitted from person to person or through food, water, animals, and insects. Many of these illnesses may be communicable, and thus be carried and transmitted by an infected person. Therefore, the prevention of these illnesses from being spread in a family or community is important because some of the illnesses can lead to serious illness and even death.

The most effective methods for preventing the spread of communicable disease are frequent handwashing and staying home when you are sick.

If you suspect you have a communicable disease, please seek medical care.

Please call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 or TTY at 7-1-1 for the deaf and hearing-impaired. Registered Nurses can provide health information and advice at any time - 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

More information for non-urgent questions about illnesses and diseases:

Resources

Additional information

Foodborne illness, often referred to as food poisoning, is the result of eating food contaminated with a disease causing organism (bacteria, virus, parasite, fungi) or with a toxin produced by a bacteria or fungi. Symptoms may range from mild to severe, and may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. In serious cases, severe complication can develop and, rarely, even lead to death. A person may also be carrying an illness but not be showing any symptoms. This is one reason it is important to practice good food safety.

Two main causes of foodborne illness are infections and intoxications. Infections take longer to present symptoms (for example days to weeks) while intoxications present more quickly (within hours to days). Some intoxications produce symptoms such as tingling in extremities, dizziness, difficulty breathing, paralysis and more.
Examples of common disease causing organisms are Salmonella, E.coli, Campylobacter, Listeria and S. aureus. For a more complete list, and details on each organism, refer to the BC Health files.

Environmental Health Officers follow-up on lab confirmed cases of organisms that cause foodborne illness. This follow-up involves contacting the individual who is sick and obtaining a detailed food history, as well as asking about certain high risk activities that make you more susceptible to the illness in question.
Following up on cases also helps identify outbreaks. EHOs investigate outbreaks to determine the cause and source of the illness. You will find more information on outbreaks on this page.

What if I think I have a foodborne illness?

If you suspect you have a foodborne illness, you should visit your doctor and describe your symptoms. To verify your illness, you will be asked to give a stool sample which will be sent for laboratory confirmation. Confirmation is necessary to determine the source or cause and provide information on limiting further spread. If you are suffering from a foodborne illness, you will be contacted by an Environmental Health Officer for follow-up.

Health Canada estimates that there are 11 to 13 million cases of foodborne illness in Canada every year. However, public health experts also estimate that only about one in five people seek medical attention when they suspect they’re suffering from such an illness, and of those only a small percentage have samples collected to confirm the presence of an enteric pathogen.