Guidance for marine operators: Reporting illness on board

Updated: April 16, 2024

This page provides information to marine operators entering and exiting Canada about their obligation to report any person or thing onboard their vessels that could cause the spread of communicable disease.

On this page

• Overview
• Regulatory requirements
• Reporting communicable diseases as defined in the Quarantine Act
• Reporting gastrointestinal illness
• Reporting both types of illness

Overview

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) works with the marine industry and other government partners to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable diseases. Under section 34 of the Quarantine Act, there are reporting requirements for marine operators so that PHAC can respond to ill travellers (including passengers and crew) entering or exiting Canada with signs and symptoms of:

• communicable disease as defined in the Quarantine Act or
• gastrointestinal illness (GI)

Reporting helps PHAC protect the health and safety of people in Canada. They assist in monitoring illness on board marine vessels and allow PHAC to provide recommendations to marine operators on how to manage illness on board.

Regulatory requirements

Marine operators are required to comply with their regulatory requirements under section 34 and 38 of the Quarantine Act. Marine operators that fail to comply with these requirements may be subject to enforcement actions, up to and including prosecution.

Section 34

Application

34 (1) This section applies to the operator of any of the following conveyances:

1.  a conveyance that is used in the business of carrying persons or cargo; and
2.  a prescribed conveyance.

Operator to inform quarantine officer before arrival

(2) As soon as possible before a conveyance arrives at its destination in Canada, the operator shall inform a quarantine officer or cause a quarantine officer to be informed of any reasonable grounds to suspect that

1. any person, cargo or other thing on board the conveyance could cause the spreading of a communicable disease listed in the schedule;
2. a person on board the conveyance has died; or
3. any prescribed circumstances exist.

Operator to inform quarantine officer before departure

(3) As soon as possible before a conveyance departs from Canada through a departure point, the operator shall inform a quarantine officer or cause a quarantine officer to be informed of any circumstance referred to in paragraphs (2)(a) to (c) that exists.

Exception

(4) No operator contravenes subsection (2) if it is not reasonably possible for the operator to inform a quarantine officer or cause a quarantine officer to be informed before the conveyance's arrival at its destination in Canada, as long as the operator does so on the conveyance's arrival at that destination.

Section 38

Duty to provide information

38 The operator shall answer any relevant questions asked by a screening officer, a quarantine officer or an environmental health officer and provide the officer with any information or record in the operator's possession that the officer may reasonably require in the performance of a duty under this Act.

Learn more:

• PHAC Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Framework
• Quarantine Act Contraventions Regulations

Reporting communicable diseases as defined in the Quarantine Act

Who should report

Marine operators using a conveyance in the business of carrying persons or cargo, entering or exiting Canada, are required to inform a quarantine officer, pursuant to section 34 of the Quarantine Act of illness, human remains or death on board.

What to report

Marine operators must inform a quarantine officer of any reasonable grounds to suspect:

• any person, cargo or other thing on board the conveyance could cause the spreading of a communicable disease listed in the schedule
• a person on board the conveyance has died or
• any prescribed circumstances exist (ex. body fluid spills, human remains)

The Quarantine Act's definition of a communicable disease is:

"a human disease that is caused by an infectious agent or a biological toxin and poses a risk of significant harm to public health, or a disease listed in the schedule, and includes an infectious agent that causes a communicable disease."

The marine operator must notify a quarantine officer if passengers or crew:

1. meet the syndromal case definition:
   • traveller has a fever of 38°C or greater or 2 or more signs of fever, such as:
     • shivering
     • flushed skin
     • excessive sweating
     • complaints of feeling feverish
   • and has 1 or more of the following symptoms:
     • difficulty breathing
     • repeated cough
     • diarrhea
     • headache
     • recent confusion
     • skin rash
     • bruising or bleeding without previous injury
2. appear with the following symptoms:
   • is obviously unwell or
   • is coughing with blood

Gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise vessels

On cruise vessels, the marine operator must report gastrointestinal illness amongst travellers.

Report gastrointestinal illness

Death on board or human remains

Every marine operator carrying a cadaver, a body part or other human remains into Canada must provide a copy of the death certificate to the screening officer at the point of entry. If no death certificate is provided, the screening officer will inform a quarantine officer. Marine operators must follow the quarantine officer's directives regarding the human remains.

In the case of a death on board, marine operators must report all cases to PHAC when possible prior to arrival.

Learn more:

• Quarantine Act: Conveyances, 34(2) and 34(3)
• Importation and Exportation of Human remains
• Radio Aids to Marine Navigation 2024: Quarantine messages

When to report

Reporting of illness

Reporting of illness must happen as soon as possible before:

• Pre-arrival: 24 to 48 hours before the operator's first port of call in Canada or at their last international port if less than 24 hours.
• Pre-arrival: less than 24 hours prior to first port of call.
  • Vessel operators must:
    • submit the maritime declaration of health (MDH) and applicable Annex and
    • call the PHAC Quarantine Central Notification System (CNS) if the submission is within 24 hours of arrival (call toll-free: 1-833-615-2384)
• Departure (exit): Up to 24 hours before departing from the last port of call in Canada.

No reporting

Reporting is not required if none of the reporting criteria have been met.

• No communicable disease on board
• No deaths have occurred on board pre-arrival while in Canada and prior to departure
• Not importing or exporting human remains

Gastrointestinal illness reporting must still be completed for every entry for cruise ships.

Report gastrointestinal illness

How to report

New for 2024: Reporting forms and links have been updated. Please ensure that the latest links and forms are used for the 2024 season.

For reporting illness on board, please complete the 3 following forms: 

1. Maritime declaration of health
2. Annex: Marine vessel communicable disease reporting form
3. Excel case reporting form
   1. The Excel case reporting form is located in the annex marine vessel communicable disease reporting form.
   2. You will navigate to the second page where you will find the form labelled annex case reporting form.
   3. Download the Excel form, ensuring that all fields are filled out for each affected individual.
   4. Submit the completed form by attaching it to your annex submission.

If you need clarification on how to report illness on board, please:

• email the PHAC Central Notification System at cns-snc@phac-aspc.gc.ca, or
• call the PHAC Central Notification System at 1-833-615-2384 (toll-free)

Learn more:

• Privacy Act (personal information)

For all other vessel operators

Other vessel operators (such as pleasure craft, fishing vessels and ferries) report by informing a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) border services officer when entering Canada.

Reporting gastrointestinal illness

Gastrointestinal illness

Reporting of gastrointestinal illness applies exclusively to cruise ships and is based on signs and symptoms outlined below. These reports are monitored. An environmental health officer will follow up directly with the vessel should levels of illness exceed 2% among passengers and crew.

Who should report

Gastrointestinal illness reporting should be completed by:

• incoming cruise ships
• departing cruise ships whose voyage started in Canada

Cargo vessels are not required to report gastrointestinal illness.

PHAC operates a gastrointestinal illness surveillance system for cruise ships entering Canadian waters. If gastrointestinal illness on board is widespread and above public health thresholds, PHAC will:

• respond
• investigate the outbreak
• work to provide the vessel owner and operator with guidance to bring the outbreak under control

When to report

At minimum, gastrointestinal illness reporting needs to be completed at the following times:

• all incoming cruise ships need to submit a report 24 to 36 hours prior to reaching the first port of arrival into Canada
• all cruises that start in Canada need to submit a report 24 to 36 hours before reaching the last port of call before leaving Canada

In both cases, operators should make a report even when the case count for gastrointestinal illness on board is 0.

Cruise operators are required to submit 2 reports on a single voyage if they are leaving Canada with a stop at an international port and re-entering as part of the same itinerary.

Reporting should also be completed in the following scenarios:

• when the number of cases changes after an operator has submitted their first report
  • this report needs to be submitted no less than 4 hours before arrival at the Canadian port of call
• if, at any time during a cruise, at least 2% of the passengers or at least 2% of the crew has gastrointestinal illness and the ship is within 15 days of arrival at a Canadian port
• another report must be submitted if, at any time during a cruise, at least 3% of the passengers or at least 3% of the crew has gastrointestinal illness and the ship is within 15 days of arrival at a Canadian port

What to report

A reportable case of gastrointestinal illness is defined as:

• diarrhea (3 or more episodes of loose stools in a 24-hour period or what is above normal for the individual) or
• vomiting and 1 additional symptom, including:
  • 1 or more episodes of loose stools in a 24-hour period
  • abdominal cramps
  • headache
  • muscle aches
  • fever (temperature of 38°C [100.4°F] or higher)

How to report

Gastrointestinal reporting should be submitted electronically through PHAC's Gastrointestinal Illness Surveillance System. You can access the reporting forms, including additional information on when to report, through this system.

Report using the Gastrointestinal Illness Surveillance System

Any questions regarding gastrointestinal illness reporting can be sent by email to the Travelling Public Program at tpp-ppv@phac-aspc.gc.ca. Cruise ship operators can also contact the 24/7 PHAC notification line if they encounter difficulties with submitting the forms electronically. Call 1-833-615-2384 (ext. 7) to reach an environmental health officer.

Reporting both types of illness

Marine vessels may have travellers or crew on board with signs and symptoms of both gastrointestinal illness and a communicable disease as defined in the Quarantine Act.

In those instances, please complete the:

• maritime declaration of health
• the marine vessel communicable disease reporting form annex and
• the Gastrointestinal Illness Surveillance System report

Related links

• Cruise Ship Clearance Procedures
• Public health reference tool for cruise ship operators
• Guidance for cruise operators to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19: Ship Safety Bulletin
• Travelling Public Program
• Quarantine services