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Child Care

Outbreaks in Child Care Centres

Outbreaks can occur at child care centres because of transmission of illness. The goal of outbreak management is to break the chain of transmission and prevent further spread of illness. The local public health inspector will support the centre to manage an outbreak.

The Outbreak Quick Start Guide for child care operators provides an overview on managing outbreaks.

Completed line lists can be submitted via the online Electronic Line List Submission option or via fax at 705-733-7738. Do not submit line lists via email. 

There are two classifications of outbreaks:

  • Enteric (Gastrointestinal)
  •  Respiratory 
 

Under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, licensed child care centres are required to report all clusters of illness identified at the centre to the health unit. A cluster of illness is when multiple children or staff are ill with similar symptoms. When the number of staff and/or children that are ill at a centre exceeds the normally expected (baseline) illness rate for the centre, the centre must contact SMDHU at (705) 721-7520 ext. 5744 to report the increase in illness.

When notified of the cluster of illness, the assigned public health inspector will help the centre determine if the cluster is an outbreak or not. If it is an outbreak, the inspector will require control measures be started and provide the centre with an outbreak number. The outbreak number should be referenced on all communications regarding the outbreak. If the situation is not determined to be an outbreak, the inspector may still recommend outbreak precautions to prevent an outbreak from being declared in the future.

Outbreak Resources

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) provides resources that assist with management of the outbreak including outbreak checklists, line lists and signage. Resources for both respiratory and enteric outbreaks can be found below.

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