There are many public health partners involved in enteric outbreak detection and response in Canada. These investigative partners represent various levels of government within Canada and internationally. The roles and responsibilities of investigative partners during an enteric illness outbreak are summarized in Table 1 below. As roles tend to be more variable at the local/regional and provincial/territorial level, more detail is provided for the three main federal partners involved in food safety: the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada.
Table 1: Roles and responsibilities of investigative partners during an enteric illness outbreak
Investigative partner
Role and responsibility
Local/regional public health officials
Laboratories
Epidemiology
Food safety
Investigate cases of human enteric illness.
Conduct surveillance of enteric illnesses.
Identify and investigate local/regional outbreaks.
Conduct inspections and implement control measures to reduce health risks related to food.
Report cases of enteric illness and food safety investigation findings to provincial/territorial public health officials.
Provincial/territorial public health officials
Laboratories
Epidemiology
Food safety
Conduct provincial/territorial surveillance of enteric illnesses.
Conduct laboratory analyses of clinical, food and environmental samples collected in respective jurisdictions.
Lead and coordinate the response to multi-jurisdictional (local/regional) outbreaks.
Validate and coordinate the exchange of epidemiologic data between local/regional and federal public health officials.
Report cases of enteric illness and results of laboratory analyses to federal public health officials.
Provincial/territorial agriculture officials
Conduct food safety investigations at provincially- or territorially-regulated facilities (i.e., facilities not under the regulatory responsibility of the CFIA).
Implement measures to control the potential source of enteric illnesses.
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Laboratories: National Microbiology Laboratory (NML)
Epidemiology: Centre for Foodborne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (CFEZID)
Outbreak Management Division (OMD)
Foodborne Disease and Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Division (FDASD)
Outbreak Support/Epidemiology: Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response (CEPR)
Conduct centralized analysis of epidemiologic data.
Assess the weight of epidemiologic evidence for action.
Conduct laboratory analyses and provide laboratory reference services for strain identification and characterization of clinical, food and environmental samples.
Lead and coordinate the response to multi-jurisdictional (provincial/territorial) outbreaks.
Liaise with international partners, such as the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Liaise with international partners, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
This resource contains a list of acronyms referenced within Toolkit and/or of interest to public health professionals working in enteric outbreak response.
This is the primary guidance document for multi-jurisdictional investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks in Canada; it is followed when cases are reported in more than one province or territory, or in Canada as well as another country, and when multiple agencies are involved.