AHS says patient being tested has low risk for Ebola
Posted Nov 27, 2014 11:13 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary’s Chief Medical Officer of Health says a patient being treated at the South Health Campus is being tested for a number of illnesses, including Ebola.
Dr. Richard Musto says they have concerns about the patient’s symptoms, and her travel history.
“The risk of this patient having Ebola is very low, testing is being conducted out of an abundance of precaution,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Richard Musto. “We understand that this might make Albertans feel anxious, but be assured we are prepared to manage any case of Ebola.” said Musto. “It is unacceptable to suggest the public should be fearful, our staff are trained to protect health, our staff have protected health and the patient is not a risk to the public, so finally I implore you not to speculate.”
The patient is from one of three African affected countries and she will be monitored over the next 21 days (which is the time it takes for Ebola to incubate in a patient).
Musto says she won’t be quarantined for that entire time because she would only be contagious once she had the disease.
“We’ll continue to monitor her temperature and symptoms throughout that three week period.”
He refrained from revealing anything else about her past in order to protect the confidentiality of the person involved.
“We will continue to manage the individual as though the case in fact could be Ebola even though we think it is highly unlikely.”
Alberta Health Services should have a diagnosis within the next few days.
The woman was transferred to South Health Campus from the Peter Lougheed Hospital Wednesday.
There was a temporary diversion from the PLC in terms of incoming patients while they cleaned the affected area.
South Health Campus is one of two area hospitals (the other being Alberta Children’s Hospital) where staff are prepped to deal with a local Ebola outbreak.
Patients inside the Lougheed Emergency Room while she was there have been identified and officials plan on following up with each one.
This is the third time someone has been hospitalized with Ebola-like symptoms in Alberta (2 in Calgary, 1 in Edmonton), since the start of the outbreak in West Africa, the previous two incidents were ruled out.
