A spokesperson for Ontario’s Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, confirms that a patient who recently travelled to East Africa is now in an Ontario hospital being assessed for “a range of possible” infections, including a rare type of Ebola virus that’s currently spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda.
“A patient is being assessed in hospital following recent travel to East Africa,” the spokesperson told CityNews in a statement.
“Out of an abundance of caution, clinicians are testing the patient for a range of possible infectious diseases, including Ebola virus given their recent travel history, in accordance with established clinical protocols. All appropriate infection prevention and control measures are in place.
“There are currently no confirmed cases of Ebola in Ontario.”
There are currently 2,300 Canadians registered as being in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Global Affair’s voluntary registration for Canadians abroad, and 1,300 are registered in Uganda.
“Consular officials are standing ready to provide assistance to those who are requesting it,” Anita Anand, the minister of foreign affairs, said on Wednesday.
The federal government has advised Canadians not to travel to the eastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces stricken by Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola that has no vaccines or treatments.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths, though he says the scale of the epidemic is much larger.
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