Ebola-like Symptoms Seen In Two People, Now Isolated, In Ottawa and Belleville, Canada

Two people with Ebola-like symptoms are in isolation after showing up separately at hospitals in Ottawa and Belleville, Ontario, Canada.

One patient arrived at The Ottawa Hospital's General campus on Sunday and was immediately placed in isolation, Ottawa Public Health confirmed on Monday.

The patient had recently visited a West African country where Ebola has been reported.

Samples from the patient have been sent to the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg for testing, and results are expected Monday evening.

The patient is "doing well" and under observation, the hospital said in a news release.

The hospital received a call before the patient arrived to allow staff to prepare for the arrival, and special steps are being taken at the hospital to protect staff and other patients.

The person's age and gender are not being released to protect their privacy, the hospital said.

"All necessary precautions are being taken to ensure the safety of other patients, visitors and hospital staff," said Dr. Jonathan Angel, an infectious disease specialist at the hospital, in a statement issued Monday. "Strict infection prevention and control measures in Ontario hospitals means the risk of Ebola to other patients and health-care workers is minimal."

Also in the statement, Dr. Isra Levy, Ottawa's medical officer of health, emphasized that "Ebola virus disease spreads only through direct contact with infected bodily fluids."

But the head of the Ontario Nurses Association said there is no consensus on whether or not Ebola can spread through the air. Linda Haslam-Stroud argued that someone could inhale tiny airborne particles if exposed to them long enough in an enclosed space.

"Aerosol transmission has not been ruled out and this is the fundamental disagreement that we're having right now with the government and we're working with the government to try to resolve," she said.

In the other case, a male showed up at the Belleville General Hospital's emergency room with Ebola-like symptoms late Sunday night.

The patient had recently made one stopover in an airport in Sierra Leone, and the hospital described the case as "extremely low risk."

Within four minutes of his arrival at the Belleville hospital, he was placed in isolation, and no other patients in the ER had contact with him, the hospital said.

At news conference Monday afternoon, Belleville's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Richard Schabas, said the patient was not in critical condition and that his blood test results are expected by Tuesday morning.

Source: CBC