Viral haemorrhagic fever testing and outbreaks
There is an evolving outbreak of Marburg
virus haemorrhagic fever (VHF) in the country of Rwanda, located in East
Central Africa. If there is moderate to high epidemiologic risk in returning
travelers, and clinical concern for Marburg infection, immediately place the
patient in a single room on
contact and droplet precautions, with appropriate signage. It is critical for
all clinicians to consult MOH on call PRIOR to ordering any laboratory
testing.
APL laboratories moving to the Arthur J.E.
Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre
Multiple testing laboratories at Alberta
Precision Laboratories (APL) will move to the new Arthur J.E. Child
Comprehensive Cancer Centre (Arthur Child) on the Foothills Medical Centre
campus.
The following APL laboratories will be
opening in late October 2024:
- Outpatient Collections
- APL Clinical Trials and
Research
- Cancer Cytogenomics (previously
known as Cancer Cytogenetics)
- Cellular Therapy
- Flow Cytometry
- Molecular Pathology
(co-locating the DSC Molecular Hematology and FMC Molecular Pathology
labs)
- Pharmacokinetics
- Special Hematology
- Transplant Lab South
(previously known as Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics)
- Point of Care Testing (new)
- Central Receiving (new)
- For
more information read the bulletin
Important: Fax number update for oncology referrals to the new Calgary Cancer Centre (Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre)
As all Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Holy Cross Centre cancer services transition to the
Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre on Monday, October 28, AHS reminds those sending fax referrals to update your records and automatic dialing to the new Arthur Child contact fax number and main switchboard, immediately.
Please discontinue sending fax referrals to the Tom Baker and Holy Cross cancer centres.
If faxes continue to be sent to Tom Baker and Holy Cross, they will be automatically rerouted to Arthur Child for a period of six months, and during that time AHS will remind senders to update the fax number on their end before the rerouting expires in May 2025.
After the six-month period, if senders have not updated their contact information, they will receive an error message.
The Arthur Child contact numbers are as follows:
- Main switchboard: 587-231-3100
- Toll-free number: 1-844-465-6330
- Referral fax number: 587-231-3580
Questions: Lori Kotkas, Supervisor, Health Information Management, AHS: 587-231-3600
FAST multi-specialty launch coming December 2FAST is a provincial central access and intake program. FAST currently accepts referrals for general surgery, gynecology, orthopedic surgery, urology and vascular surgery.
On December 2, FAST will expand to four new surgical specialties across Alberta, including plastic surgery, neurosurgery, otolaryngology and oral maxillofacial surgery. During this time Edmonton Zone will also expand beyond colposcopy to accept all gynecology referrals.
Learn more and review referral instructions at
AHS.ca/FAST.
Edmonton Zone: FAST December 2 launch notes Urology referrals in Edmonton Zone should continue to be submitted through eReferral. The launch on December 2 will not change how plastic surgery and otolaryngology referrals are accepted. Expanded gynecology reasons for referral in Edmonton zone will not impact how colposcopy referrals are accepted in the zone.
The following item is for Edmonton, North and Central zones only: Changes to reportable range for C-Reactive Protein (CRP) at Edmonton base labEffective October 22, 2024, the reportable range of the Siemens Atellica CRP method performed at Edmonton base lab will change to 5.0 mg/L – 1250 mg/L. CRP results less than 5.0 mg/L will now be reported as < 5.0 mg/L. If values lower than 5.0 mg/L are required for the evaluation of cardiovascular disease risk, CRP, high sensitivity (hsCRP) should be ordered.
Food contaminated with listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Symptoms can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. In severe cases of illness, people may die.
People who believe they have experienced symptoms of illness related to consumption of the products, such as fever, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea, are urged to contact their health care provider or Health Link 811 for 24/7 health advice.
