Public Health Agency of Canada’s outbreak support
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About our capacity
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) builds Canada's public health capacity in several ways, including training and mobilizing field epidemiologists. These specialists work as part of a public health team to respond to urgent health events.
With PHAC's Centre for Emergency Response as lead coordinator, public health professionals include:
- field epidemiologists from the Canadian Field Epidemiology Program
- laboratory specialists from the National Microbiology Laboratory Branch
These health professionals can be mobilized across Canada within 24 to 48 hours with all associated costs covered by PHAC, including travel and accommodation.
Other specialized programs (such as Canadian Public Health Services) can be called upon to support public health events and emergencies. The centre also coordinates international mobilizations of public health professionals within short timeframes in response to global public health emergencies.
The centre provides:
- coordination of the response
- technical guidance in mobilizing resources for epidemiologists
The National Microbiology Laboratory Branch does the same for laboratory concerns.
Request assistance
Requests for assistance can be done by Canadian:
- provinces and territories
- federal groups
Health care facilities, and local or regional health departments should send PHAC requests for assistance through their chief medical officer of health.
All requests can be sent to hpoc-cops@phac-aspc.gc.ca.