Appendix A: Evaluation of the surveillance function at the Public Health Agency of Canada – Surveillance systems by branch and centre

Appendix A. Public Health Agency of Canada surveillance systems by branch and centre

PHAC defines a surveillance system as “A coordinated sequence of activities among one or more organizations designed to carry out surveillance of a disease or diseases and their risk factors, determinants or preventive interventions, in the most effective and efficient means possible. To be a system, the activity must entail a full cycle of surveillance, from data collection to the dissemination of surveillance information so that necessary responses and actions can be undertaken”.

The Agency identified the following purposes for its surveillance systems:

1. To inform the planning, development and implementation of health programs and healthy public policies, including laws and regulations.
2. To contribute to evidence-informed decisions on resource allocations and priority setting.
3. To contribute to the evaluation of public health programs and practice, and healthy public policies.
4. To take timely and evidence-informed actions on outbreaks and other urgent public health events, including those related to the safety of vaccines, drugs, therapeutic interventions, or consumer products.
5. To generate and maintain public awareness.
6. To maintain stakeholder and partner confidence, nationally and internationally.
7. To identify knowledge gaps and generate hypotheses that require further investigation.

The Agency has surveillance systems in place to provide information and support the programs from the two branches: Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch and Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch.

The Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention has the following surveillance systems:

• Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System
• Adult Cancer Surveillance Program
• Arthritis and Osteoporosis Surveillance Program
• Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance Program
• Chronic Respiratory Disease Surveillance Program
• Diabetes Surveillance Program
• Mental Illness Surveillance Program
• Neurological Conditions Surveillance Program (under development)
• Childhood Obesity Surveillance Program (under development)
• Cancer in Young People in Canada Surveillance Program
• Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System
• Canadian Pediatric Surveillance Program
• Child Maltreatment Surveillance
• Developmental Disorders Surveillance Program (under development)
• Injury Surveillance

The Centre for Immunizations and Respiratory Infections has the following surveillance systems:

• Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System
• Canadian Measles & Rubella Surveillance System (epi component)
• Enhanced Acute Flaccid Paralysis Surveillance
• FluWatch
• Immunization Coverage Surveillance
• Immunization Monitoring Program ACTive
• Routine Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases
• Outbreak Summaries Surveillance (respiratory module-under development)
• National Enhanced IMD Surveillance System (epi component)
• Invasive Group A Streptococcus Surveillance (epi componenet)
• International Circumpolar Surveillance System (epi component of invasive bacterial)

The Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses has the following surveillance systems:

• Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (non-human component)
• National Integrated Enteric Pathogen Surveillance Program

The Centre for Communicable Disease and Infection Control has the following surveillance systems:

• Antimicrobial Resistant Neisseria Gonorrhea Surveillance System (under development)
• Canadian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance Program (epi component)
• Canadian Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
• Canadian Tuberculosis Laboratory Surveillance System (epi component)
• Canadian Tuberculosis Reporting System
• Cells, Tissue and Organ Surveillance System
• Community Acquired MRSA Surveillance (under development)
• Enhanced Surveillance for Lymphogranuloma Venereum in Canada (under review)
• Transfusion Transmitted Injuries Surveillance System
• Transfusion Error Surveillance System
• Track Enhanced Surveillance Surveys
• Routine Surveillance of Reportable Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Routine Surveillance of Hepatitis B&C
• International Circumpolar Surveillance System (epi component of tuberculosis)
• HIV/AIDS Surveillance System
• HIV Strain and Drug Resistance Surveillance System (epi component)
• Enhanced Surveillance of Canadian Street Youth

National Microbiology Laboratory is conducting the following surveillance activities:

• Canadian Measles and Rubella Surveillance System (lab component)
• Canadian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance Program (lab component)
• Canadian Tuberculosis Laboratory Surveillance System (lab component)
• Enhanced Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Surveillance (lab component-under development)
• HIV Strain and Drug Resistance Surveillance System (lab componenet)
• National Integrated Enteric Pathogen Surveillance Program (C-Enternet)(Human – Lab Component)
• Streptococcal Disease Surveillance (lab components of iGAS, Invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae)
• PulseNet Canada
• National Enteric Surveillance Program (lab component)
• National Enhanced IMD Surveillance System (lab component)
• International Circumpolar Surveillance System( lab components of TB, invasive Meningococcal Disease, Haemophilus Influenzae Surveillance)
• Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (Human – Lab component)

The Centre for Food-Borne Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases conducts the following surveillance activities:

• Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (human component)
• Lyme Disease Surveillance
• National Enteric Surveillance Program (epi component)
• National Integrated Enteric Pathogen Surveillance Program (C-Enternet human component)
• Enhanced Listeriosis Surveillance
• Sentinel Surveillance for Avian Influenza & Other Wildlife Zoonoses
• Pharmacy Syndromic Surveillance System
• Outbreak Summaries Surveillance (enteric module- under development)
• National Surveillance for West Nile Virus and other Mosquito-borne illnesses
• Canadian Creutsfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance System (CJDSS)