New publications about Reportable Infectious Diseases (MADOs): 2000-2020

What is a reportable infectious disease?

It is an infectious disease that is mandatory to report by law. This means that health professionals and laboratory staff must notify Public Health authorities when they diagnose a case.

It is mandatory to report these infectious diseases because they can spread to others and cause serious health problems. If the spread of infectious diseases is not controlled, they can lead to outbreaks that affect many people.

Reportable diseases may also be called “notifiable diseases” or “declarable diseases.” In French, they are called maladies à déclaration obligatoire (MADOs).

List of MADOs (Available only in French)

What is the report about?

The report provides information on incidence∗ , possible risk factors, and preventive and control measures taken for a range of reportable infectious diseases that affected Eeyou Istchee between 2000 and 2020. It focuses on reportable infectious diseases caused by germs like bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

The report was produced as part of the Public Health Department’s mandate to inform the population about their health and support partners in developing initiatives that promote health and prevent diseases. It represents decades of collaborative efforts among the communities, CMCs, and the Public Health Department to reduce the impact of reportable infectious diseases in the region.

∗Incidence refers to new cases of a disease occurring in a population during a specific period of time.

For every 10 people in a population, 2 people will develop the disease per year.

What are the report’s key findings?

Between 2000 and 2020 in Eeyou Istchee:

Chlamydia and gonorrhea were the most common STIs. Syphilis and HIV were less common.
Severe disease due to group A streptococcus (GAS) and Haemophilus influenzae type a (Hia) were relatively common, especially among older adults and young children.
Outbreaks related to reportable enteric (gut) diseases were uncommon.
New cases of tuberculosis (TB) disease were uncommon.

The Public Health Department carried out the following strategies to prevent and control diseases:

Widespread vaccination helped control or eliminate diseases like hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal type C disease, and measles. Eeyou Istchee had higher vaccination coverages among infants and children than in the rest of Quebec.
Community partnerships to vaccinate dogs and provide care for people who were bitten or scratched helped keep risk of rabies low.
About 4 in every 5 people with chronic hepatitis C were cured, bringing the region closer to hepatitis C elimination.
Timely management of new TB cases, priority contacts, and treating people with latent TB infection (sleeping TB) helped keep case numbers low.