Ottawa public health resources 'not sufficient' as city sees uptick in infectious diseases: report

A woman is wearing a face mask as she walks through the old town in Jena, Germany, Friday, April 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) says it does not have sufficient resources to grapple with a significant rise in infectious diseases linked to a variety of factors, including migration, climate change and vaccine hesitancy.

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A report that will be tabled at the next Ottawa Board of Health meeting on June 17 finds significant increases in a variety of infections when compared to data averaged out from 2017 to 2019. The data does not include influenza or COVID-19 because a disproportionate number of cases occur in long-term care and retirement homes.

"Current resources are not sufficient to sustain the work efforts needed to meet objectives set out in provincial protocols given the increases in disease rates and trends described in this report," OPH said in the report.

"Further strain is anticipated on the program as infectious disease rates are likely to continue to rise in 2024 and beyond."

Ten diseases with the highest increase in confirmed reports from the 2017-2019 average to 2023 in Ottawa include:

• Group A Streptococcal Disease (iGAS), 110 per cent
• Lyme disease, 99 per cent
• HIV, 73 per cent
• Cyclosporiasis, 71 per cent
• IPD (Invasive pneumococcal disease), 65 per cent
• Hepatitis B, 31 per cent
• Gonorrhea, 27 per cent
• LTBI (latent tuberculosis infection), 24 per cent
• Tuberculosis, 23 per cent
• Syphilis, 22 per cent

While reports of most infectious diseases decreased during the pandemic, OPH says many are now increasing and exceeding pre-pandemic numbers. Overall, OPH confirmed 7,608 reports of infectious diseases (excluding influenza and COVID-19) in 2023.

That's 6.3 per cent higher than the pre-pandemic average (2017 to 2019) and 47 per cent higher than the average in 2020 to 2021 – when pandemic restrictions were in effect.

In the report, OPH notes the rise in infectious diseases is linked to a variety of factors, including population growth, travel and immigration.

Other factors include climate change, with an increase in new diseases, and a re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases amid a decrease in vaccine coverage since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ottawa Public Health says those experiencing social and economic barriers that prevent them from having adequate food, housing and mental health supports are disproportionally impacted by the increase. This is due, in part, to a lack of family medicine in the city, the report says.

The public health agency says it needs an estimated 171 family doctors to fill the gap in Ottawa.

"When a person impacted [by an infectious disease] does not have a primary care provider, this can add a significant increase in the workload for the nurse responsible as there is often a need to find alternate locations for affected individuals to access recommended services for assessment, treatment or prevention," OPH says.

OPH is asking for a review of the funding formula and Ontario Public Health Standards to manage its increased workload.

In addition, the public health agency is asking the province to accelerate the development of a provincial infectious disease surveillance tool to manage and track the spread of infectious diseases.