Primary Care Alberta Clinical Updates - October 30, 2025

Avian flu identified in birds in Calgary area

Please note that avian influenza (H5N1) has been identified among birds at Butterfield Acres petting farm in Foothills County, near Calgary. Members of the public were exposed between October 6 and 12. No human cases have been identified thus far.
Patients presenting with respiratory or flu-like symptoms who visited Butterfield Acres between October 6 and October 12 and developed symptoms within 10 days after exposure are strongly recommended to complete nasopharyngeal AND throat swab testing (and conjunctival swabs in the presence of conjunctivitis). Symptomatic individuals are advised to reach out to 811 Health Link for a Virtual MD assessment.
  • Get more information.
  • See the attached memo from Calgary Zone medical officers of health for details.

HPV primary screening launching for ages 50 to 69

Alberta is transitioning to HPV primary screening as the standard for cervical cancer screening. This transition supports earlier detection, longer screening intervals and improved access through self-sampling.

  • For provider resources, including an overview and FAQ, clinical pathway and follow-up instructions, visit Primary Care Alberta’s Screening for Life website.

Starting on November 5, 2025, women and people with a cervix aged 50 to 69 will be eligible for HPV primary screening. The sample collection and lab submission process will remain unchanged. However, referral decisions will now be based on HPV genotype and cervical cytology results.

Primary care providers will continue to receive lab results and follow-up letters for patients who identify them as their provider. If a patient has a positive HPV result, they may seek your support for follow-up testing.

Planning for provincial access to HPV primary screening for women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 49 is ongoing. At this time, these patients will continue to be screened using Pap tests.

  • Get more information on Primary Care Alberta’s Screening for Life website.

Edmonton Zone: New patient letters in screening mammography reports

The Alberta Breast Cancer Screening Program (ABCSP), in collaboration with the Alberta Society of Radiologists, is pleased to announce the launch of patient-facing result letters integrated directly into screening mammogram radiology reports. This is the first phase of a planned provincial initiative.

Beginning October 23, 2025, patients visiting select radiology clinic locations in the Edmonton area will receive a simplified summary of their screening mammogram results, provided alongside the full clinical report in MyChart and My Health Records. Physicians will also see the patient summary when they review results.

The ABCSP team plans to expand the initiative to additional radiology clinics throughout Alberta, ensuring more patients benefit from clear screening information.

Ganglion Cyst (Hand and Wrist) Patient Pathway live

The Alberta Provincial Pathways Unit is pleased to share that the Ganglion Cyst (Hand and Wrist) Patient Pathway is now live on MyHealthAlberta. This comprehensive tool empowers patients with clear, accessible information to better understand, monitor and manage ganglion cysts. The pathway aligns with the Hand & Soft Tissue Mass Primary Care Pathway to support continuity of care.

Newborn hearing screening results now in Netcare

If you see patients with newborns, you can help ensure these infants are screened for permanent congenital hearing loss. Newborn hearing screening and audiological diagnostic results gathered dating from October 1, 2025, are now available on Netcare, making it easier to support parents.

Primary care providers can help by speaking to parents about the importance of screening and encouraging them to attend follow-up appointments. Early detection and timely intervention is crucial to optimizing language, brain development and overall health outcomes for infants with hearing loss.

All infants born in Alberta are offered screening for permanent congenital hearing loss by Primary Care Alberta through the Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Program. A referral is not required for hearing screening.

Adult Orthopedic Referral Pathway updated

The Provincial Pathways Unit is happy to share that the Adult Orthopedic Referral Pathway has been updated to better align with other supporting resources such as the optimized Knee Primary Care Pathway and provincial radiology protocols.

Where possible, the requirements have been simplified – for example, where a protocol can be ordered instead of a list of individual X-ray views.

APL lab bulletin: New chemistry analyzers (Fort McMurray area only)

Effective October 21, new Roche Cobas® Pure chemistry analyzers will be implemented in the Northern Lights Regional Hospital laboratory for specified blood testing. Note that patients being monitored may require re-baselining for some tests for long-term follow-up.

APL lab bulletin reminder: Please use updated respiratory virus test requisitions

Primary care clinics are asked to please double-check EMRs and paper stocks to ensure you’re using the recently updated version (version dated 2025-10) of the COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Viruses Requisition.

As of October 14, this new version is the only paper requisition accepted by Alberta Precision Laboratories for COVID-19, Influenza and Respiratory Pathogen Panel (RPP) requests. Please note that requests using other versions of this requisition will not be accepted and those orders will be cancelled.

APL lab bulletin: Cervical cancer screening change

As noted in last week’s Clinical Update, community cervical cancer screening for individuals aged 50-69 will transition to primary high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing on November 5.

Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) encourages primary care providers to review and follow the updated screening algorithm at ahs.ca/hpvtesting. Note that there are no changes to the current APL Gynecological Cytopthology Requisition or Cervical Cancer screening collection devices.
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