Emergency service workers and designated officers should consult with Public Health about potential exposures to infectious diseases. Public Health can provide disease-specific recommendations for follow-up. The Emergency Service Worker Infectious Disease Risk Assessment (PDF, 3 pages) can be downloaded from our website, and Public Health can review the risk assessment with the Designated Officer to help determine next steps.
Public Health can also provide resources for emergency service workers (such as fire, ambulance, and police) to minimize exposure to infectious diseases on the job, including those spread through blood and body fluids.
Please call our Reportable Disease Intake Line at 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4752 for all exposures to body fluids or infectious diseases. After business hours, on weekends, or on statutory holidays, call 1-877-884-8653.
If you have been exposed to blood or body fluids go to the hospital for a risk assessment by a physician.
Mandatory blood testing
The Mandatory Blood Testing Act, 2006 (MTBA) provides a way for certain individuals who have had contact with the blood or body fluids of another person to determine if they are at risk of having been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV.
If you think you have been accidentally exposed to one of those diseases, you should immediately contact a medical professional who can help assess the risk of infection and decide whether to start treatment or preventive measures.
An application can be made when members of the following groups believe they have been exposed to an individual’s blood or body fluids and are at risk for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C:
- Victim of a crime
- Provider of emergency health care or emergency first aid
- Police officer or other employee of police or correctional services
- Firefighter or paramedic (including students)
- Emergency medical attendant
- Member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (including students)
- Member of the College of Nurses of Ontario (including students)
The application process directs the Medical Officer of Health to request an individual (the respondent) to voluntarily submit to a blood test for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or HIV. According to the Act, applications must be submitted no more than 30 calendar days after the exposure.
Submit your application
Forms and guides to complete your application are available on the Ontario Government’s Central Forms Repository, including:
Fax the applicant and physician report forms to our secure Reportable Diseases fax line: 1-855-WDG-LINE (1-855-934-5463).
After you submit your application
The Medical Officer of Health will:
- Screen your application to make sure it meets the requirements of the Act
- Refer the application to the Consent and Capacity Board
- Attempt to contact the respondent to inform them of the application and request a voluntary blood sample for testing or evidence of seropositivity
Consent and Capacity Board
If the respondent does not voluntarily provide a blood sample, the Consent and Capacity Board will hold a hearing to decide whether to issue a mandatory order. The Board must begin and complete a hearing and make its decision within five business days of receiving an application from a local Medical Officer of Health. The Board will provide a copy of the Board’s decision and any order made by the Board to the respondent, the applicant, and the Medical Officer of Health. The respondent has two business days from the date the order is made to comply.
If the respondent does not comply to an order made by the Board:
- They may be fined up to $10,000 per day thereafter or imprisoned for up to six months, or both.
- The applicant may apply to a judge of the Superior Court of Justice to obtain an order for compliance for mandatory blood testing.
If you have further questions about the MBTA, please call 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4752 to speak to a public health nurse.
Presentations
Designated Officer Working Group Webinar - Updates to the Mandatory Blood Testing Act (MBTA)
Recorded November 29, 2023