Public Health Ontario Grand Rounds
As Ontario continues to see a rise in the incidence of Lyme disease and an increase of ticks, there is a need for health care providers and the public health community to be aware of the most current evidence when working with patients.
Health Quality Ontario (HQO) released a clinical guidance document to assist health care providers when considering the diagnosis and management of Lyme disease in its early stage. This presentation demonstrates how to use the guidance document and provides an updated summary on Lyme disease epidemiology and testing in Ontario.
WEBINAR SLIDES
About the presenters: Samir Patel, Gracia Mabaya and Nicholas Brandon
Samir Patel is a Clinical Microbiologist at Public Health Ontario laboratory, providing clinical oversight in vector borne zoonotic testing including Lyme disease. His research interests include epidemiology and diagnosis of Lyme disease. He is a member of Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network Lyme Disease Diagnostic Working Group and a Scientific Co-Director of the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network.
Gracia Mabaya is a Research Analyst in the Quality Standards team of the Evidence Development and Standards branch at HQO. Since December 2016, Gracia has supported the development of various Health Quality Ontario (HQO) quality standards on conditions such as osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, anxiety disorders and asthma. More recently, she worked closely with the Health Quality Ontario/Public Health Ontario (PHO) project team, as well as the Lyme Disease Working Group, consisting of public health experts, primary care providers and individuals with lived experience on the development of the HQO/PHO Lyme Disease Clinical Guidance Document.
Nick Brandon is a Public Health Physician in the Communicable Diseases, Emergency Preparedness and Response unit at PHO and an Assistant Professor in Clinical Public Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He previously worked as an Associate Medical Officer of Health and clinically as a Family Physician. He is interested in the epidemiology, prevention and management of communicable diseases, as well as public health and medical education and the impact of environmental and social determinants of health.