PHAC Wastewater Surveillance Program for COVID-19

May 3, 2023 The virus that causes COVID-19 infection (SARS-CoV-2) can be detected in the stool of infected people over a significant portion of their illness. This provides an opportunity to test and monitor wastewater (sewage) for the presence of COVID-19 in communities and institutional settings (e.g. long-term care facilities) without the need for individual…

Updates on COVID-19 Variants of Concern (VOC)

As of January 20, 2023 there have been 5 SARS-CoV-2 Variants of concern (VOC) that have emerged and undergone transmission around the world. A variant becomes a concern when it exhibits features of increased infectivity and/or transmissibility.

PHAC Agent-Based Models on COVID-19

Agent-based models (ABMs) can systematically simulate actions and interactions of independent “agents” that can represent people, places and/or objects within a predefined environment. These models aim to evaluate the success of public health interventions depending upon community structure and population dynamics.

Canadian Databases for Disease Vectors

Mathematical modelling is a method of research that allows for simulations of the real world in a virtual space. For Public Health, the results of modelling can be used to determine possible interventions and optimize desired outcomes for populations. At the 2016 5th biennial workshop of the  Pan-InfORM research group, public health practitioners and analysts…