Ebola Infection: Tests on Canadian Man Yield Negative Results
Tests on a Canadian man believed to be showing symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus have yielded negative results.
The man recently visited Nigeria when he started complaining of fever, headaches, and muscle pain. He had been in isolation at Brampton Civic Hospital since Aug 8.
He is "doing well" and is expected to have a "full and speedy recovery," Eric Hoskins, Ontario's Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, said.
"I can now confirm a recent case that underwent testing at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg was found to test negative for Ebola virus disease," Hoskins said in a statement.
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Allison McGeer, director of infection control at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, believed the man won't be the last patient on Canadian soil who will undergo the same precautionary testing.
"We will see occasional people who come from West Africa and have other illnesses and need to be managed safely while we make diagnoses," Canadian Press quoted McGeer. "There's not a huge amount of traffic between West Africa and most places in Canada, but there is traffic. And people get influenza all the time."
Hoskins highlighted the swift response of health professionals to the man.
"Health professionals responded to the alert appropriately, by identifying an individual who potentially may have been affected, taking enhanced infection-prevention precautions, and testing," he said, noting he takes pride as the "system worked as it should" in the current case.
"Ontarians should know that we are fully prepared should any cases appear in the province. This situation was the result of all our protocols working effectively."
The Ebola virus can be transmitted person to person through direct contact with blood and body fluids. However, the risk is highly preventable through the time and tested washing of hands with soap and water solution.
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