Dear Public Health Ontario (PHO) laboratory clients:
In preparation for the potential increase in measles cases under investigation across the province, PHO’s laboratory has taken measures to expand testing capacity to ensure efficient and timely reporting of results. To prioritize measles requests, follow the guidelines below when submitting measles specimens for urgent or emergency circumstance (STAT) testing at PHO’s laboratory:
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During regular hours, please notify PHO’s Laboratory Customer Service Centre and during after-hours, the Duty Officer at 416-605-3113, prior to submitting STAT measles specimen(s) to our laboratory. Submitters must indicate the types and numbers of specimen(s) being sent.
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STAT Measles specimens must be shipped separate from routine specimens.
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Clearly mark the outside of the package indicating:
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Specimens must be handled in accordance with the Canadian Biosafety Standards and shipped in accordance with the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations.
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Submitters should ship the package directly to PHO’s laboratory, preferably the Toronto site, in order to expedite testing.
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Measles PCR testing is currently routinely available Monday to Friday at PHO’s Toronto laboratory site. Samples must be received before 11:00 AM EST to ensure results are reported to the submitter on the same day.
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To support the increase in Measles PCR testing requests, in the interim, PHO’s laboratory will offer weekend testing upon a microbiologist’s approval. For weekend testing, the sample(s) must be received before 1:00 PM EST for same day testing, otherwise samples will be not be tested until the next business day (e.g., Monday). Please contact our Laboratory Customer Service Centre or Duty Officer at 416-605-3113 for discussion of these requests.
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Measles serology testing is currently routinely available Monday to Saturday at PHO’s Toronto laboratory site. Samples must be received before 4:00 PM EST on weekdays and 11:00 AM EST on Saturdays for same day testing.
Additional information about measles testing (including specimen types and collection) can be found on our Measles – Diagnostic – PCR and Measles – Serology webpages, or by calling PHO’s Laboratory Customer Service Centre at 1-877-604-4567 (toll free) or 416-235-6556, or by email at CustomerServiceCentre@oahpp.ca.
Thank you,
PHO’s Laboratory Customer Service Centre
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