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Testing order for hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV

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Last updated: October 31, 2024

Exposure to hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV

If you think you have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), you should go to your nearest emergency department immediately. It is important to have a risk assessment performed by a health professional quickly. This allows hepatitis B virus or HIV post-exposure prophylaxis to start as soon as possible. Post-exposure prophylaxis is treatment after an individual has been exposed to a disease.

There is no evidence to support post-exposure prophylaxis for hepatitis C virus (HCV). However, chronic hepatitis C infection may be prevented or cured with antiviral therapy. For more information, read Contact with blood and body fluids: Protecting against infection (HealthLinkBC File #97).

To find your nearest emergency department, search the HealthLink BC Directory or call 8-1-1.

Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act

The following information about the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act is provided for information purposes and guidance only. If there is a conflict between this website and the Emergency Disclosure Act or the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Regulation, the act and regulation prevail.

If you have come into contact with another person's bodily substance under certain circumstances, the Emergency Invervention Disclosure Act allows you to apply to the court for an order to have the other person tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV. These circumstances include:

  • While providing emergency health servies
  • While performing your duties as a fire fighter, emergency medical assistant, police or other peace officer
  • When you have reason to believe that you have been the victim of an alleged offence under the Criminal Code (Canada) and have reported the matter to a law enforcement agency

The results from this testing order may assist you and your physician in managing the possible consequences of being exposed. There are strict timelines to the testing order process. Please review the information below and the frequently asked questions for additional information.

Overview of the testing order process

  • You (the exposed individual) determine you are eligible to apply for a testing order. You request the source individual to be tested
  • If the source individual does not get tested voluntarily, you can pursue a testing order through the Provincial Court. First, provide the source individual with a Notice of Intention Form. This notifies the source individual of your intention to apply to the court for a testing order
  • If the source individual still does not get tested within 3 days of receiving the notice, you may submit an Application to Obtain a Testing Order to the Provincial Court. You must also include a completed Physician’s Report. The application must be made within 30 days following the contact with the source individual’s blood or other bodily substance
  • The Provincial Court will hear the matter. It may issue a testing order to the source individual if the criteria in the act and regulation are met
  • The source individual attends a health facility to have their blood sample taken. The sample is sent to the BC Centre for Disease Control for testing. Here is a list of public laboratory and sample collection sites
  • The test results are sent to both the exposed and source individuals' physicians
  • There may be fines for:
    • Not complying with a testing order
    • Violating the confidentiality provisions of the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act
  • You can serve a notification or document yourself. You can also have someone else, such as a friend or a professional process server, do it for you. Whoever serves the notification or document must complete an Affidavit of Personal Service. This affidavit must be filed with the Provincial Court registry office. This proves to the court that the documents were served on the other party

Forms

Click on the links below to find the forms you need for the testing order process:

Frequently asked questions

For answers to questions about testing orders, the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act and more, visit:

For more information

For information about hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV, including information about preventing transmission, visit:

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis C

HIV

Preventing transmission