University of Calgary

Short Term Infectious Disease Planning and Response

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY MASTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN

Excerpt from Section 6.32 - Infectious Disease Outbreak Control Plan for Short Term Outbreaks of Notifiable Communicable Diseases

INTERNAL NOTIFICATION WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

Contacts:

  • Janet Stein, Director, Risk Management & Insurance - 403-220-4623 or jstein@ucalgary.ca 
  • Debbie Bruckner, Director, University Wellness Centre 403-210-8904 or dbruckne@ucalgary.ca
  • 24 hr assistance at 403-220-5333

GENERAL INFORMATION

 An INFECTIOUS DISEASE “OUTBREAK” describes a distribution of cases of communicable disease that are unusual in terms of time, place or persons affected (Alberta Public Health Act, Communicable Disease Regulations, 2005).   

As Outbreaks may have the ability to spread quickly in a University environment due to the number and close proximity of individuals the University will work closely with Alberta Health Services and Alberta Health and Wellness to assist them in investigating occurrences of all notifiable communicable disease outbreaks to establish the cause, mode of transmission, probable source and identification of individuals who are deemed to be at risk of contracting the disease and implementation of  required infection prevention and control measures.

HEALTH AUTHORITY RESPONSIBILITIES

Alberta Health and Wellness is the lead health authority in the Province of Alberta.  They are responsible for managing the reporting of notifiable communicable diseases. 

The Alberta Health Services Regional Medical Officer of Health (MOH) is responsible to take all reasonable steps to ensure that reportable communicable disease cases are investigated (including contacts and source(s) of infection) and that isolation procedures, quarantine and special measures delineated in the Alberta Public Health Act – Communicable Disease Regulation, are complied with.

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting Requirements:

When notification of a suspected or confirmed infectious disease outbreak or case of a notifiable communicable disease  is received via internal University sources, the Director of Risk Management & Insurance or the Director of the University Wellness Centre will contact Alberta Health Services.

Investigation of Contacts and Source(s) of Infection:

When notification of a suspected or confirmed infectious disease outbreak or case of notifiable communicable disease is received via the Alberta Health Services MOH/designate or has been confirmed as per above, the University shall assist the MOH/designate in establishing the cause, mode of transmission, probable source and identification of individuals who are deemed to be at risk of contracting the disease and implementation of any required infection prevention control measures.  This may be done with the assistance of a variety of University departments, depending on the travel pattern of the infected individuals, whether they are residents on campus, etc.

The University shall manage information on such cases through the University Wellness Centre and provide any required information to the infectious disease outbreak specialist or the communicable disease contact as indicated by Alberta Health Services.

Special Measures

The University shall follow any special measures as determined by the MOH/designate for control of the particular disease.  This could include:

  1. Special cleaning measures appropriate to the disease;
  2. Temporary closure of public events, classes, spaces or buildings;
  3. Isolation or quarantine measures.

Communication:

The University will provide the campus community with information on any preventative measures recommended by the MOH/designate using the established Emergency Communications Plan.  The University Wellness Centre will assist in the preparation of such information.  Alberta Health Services will also collaborate to ensure consistent messaging between the respective organizations.

The University will communicate with the campus community, including students, employees and external stakeholders (where required) regarding the situation.

The University will continue to communicate with Alberta Health Services MOH, Alberta Health and Wellness and municipal and government authorities as required throughout the situation.

Travellers

Where the Infectious Disease Outbreak has occurred outside of Alberta and may be affecting University students or employees travelling, the University shall:

- Recommend the return of students or employees from international locations affected by the Outbreak, if required, or alternatively assist them in remaining in their locations and obtaining access to appropriate medical assistance or preventative measures;
-Prevent students or employees from travelling to locations (international or within Canada) affected by the Outbreak;
- Provide links to travel advice for indicating preventative measures.

Immunization

Where the MOH recommends immunization as a preventative measure to reduce the spread of the Outbreak, the University shall make its best efforts to assist Alberta Health Services with organizing such immunizations for the campus community.  The University shall also communicate the offer of such to the students and employees.

Any immunization program implemented will be established in collaboration with Alberta Health Services.

Maintenance of Essential Business Activities

The University shall, where possible, continue its essential business activities. 

Dependent on the level of the emergency, the Emergency Operations Group (EOG) will act as the body for assessing the impact of the Outbreak on University business functions and formulating and implementing strategies to enable the University to continue essential operations.