A Guide to HIV/AIDS Epidemiological and Surveillance Terms

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Frequently Used Terms in HIV/AIDS Monitoring and Epidemiological Research in Canada

NOMINAL/NAME-BASED HIV TESTING
(Refer to HIV TESTING OPTIONS)

NON-NOMINAL/NON-IDENTIFYING HIV TESTING
(Refer to HIV TESTING OPTIONS)

NOTIFIABLE DISEASE
(See also FAQs 6, 7)

A notifiable disease is a disease that is considered to be of such importance to the public health that its occurrence is required to be reported to public health authorities.

A notifiable disease is a disease that, by law, must be reported to the public health authority in the area in which the diagnosis is made.

As a notifiable disease must be reported, the two terms, notifiable disease and reportable disease, are frequently used interchangeably in discussing HIV/AIDS reporting in Canada.

In Canada, AIDS is a notifiable disease. AIDS is legally notifiable in all Canadian provinces and territories. AIDS is legally notifiable at the provincial or territorial level.

In Canada, HIV infection is legally notifiable at the provincial or territorial levels in all Canadian provinces and territories except British Columbia.

AIDS and HIV data are shared with the Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (CIDPC) at the federal level by all provinces and territories. This is done on a voluntary basis either through the provincial or territorial health department or, for HIV in British Columbia and Quebec, through provincial testing laboratories.

NUMERATOR
(Refer to DENOMINATOR)

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