The Nova Scotia government, through N.S. Regulations 176/2025 to 178/2025, enacted amendments to the Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Conditions Regulations under the Health Protection Act, reflecting a comprehensive update to the province’s public health framework for monitoring and managing communicable diseases. These amendments introduce significant changes to the classification, naming, and reporting requirements for various diseases to improve disease surveillance, public health response, and clarity in terminology.

The first set of amendments redefines the term “dangerous disease” and modifies the list of notifiable diseases in Schedule A of the regulations. Key changes include updating the disease name “Ebola hemorrhagic fever” to “Ebola disease,” reflecting internationally recognized terminology, and adding newly relevant conditions such as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection. The amendments also expand the scope of reporting for rubella to explicitly include congenital rubella syndrome and for syphilis to include syphilitic stillbirths. In addition, the previous reference to Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection was removed to ensure consistency with current disease classification standards.

A second set of amendments revises the list of notifiable diseases by removing certain entries that no longer require mandatory reporting, specifically bacterial meningitis, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). These deletions reflect evolving public health priorities and the need to focus reporting on diseases with the greatest potential impact on population health, while also improving administrative requirements for healthcare providers and laboratories.

The last set of amendments adds additional diseases to the notifiable list to improve monitoring of emerging and high-consequence infections. Newly added conditions include Cryptococcus gattii, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), Haemophilus influenzae non-b serotypes including untypable invasive forms, Q fever, and Varicella zoster virus, commonly known as chickenpox. These inclusions recognize the ongoing evolution of public health threats and the importance of timely disease detection and reporting.

Collectively, the amendments aim to strengthen Nova Scotia’s capacity to respond to infectious disease threats, ensure alignment with national and international health standards, and provide clear guidance for healthcare practitioners and public health officials in identifying and reporting conditions that pose significant risks. By updating disease names, refining reporting requirements, and adding emerging infections, the regulations improve the province’s epidemiological surveillance system and support evidence-based interventions to protect public health.

Nova Scotia (176-178/2025) September 16, 2025
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