Person who recently travelled to East Africa being tested for Ebola virus in Ontario
· Toronto Sun
A person who recently returned to Ontario after travelling to East Africa is being tested for the Ebola virus, according to a CTV News report.
The news outlet obtained a statement from an Ontario Ministry of Health spokesperson that said the individual was in a hospital and was being tested “out of an abundance of caution” for a “range of possible infectious diseases, including Ebola virus, given their recent travel history.
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“All appropriate infection prevention and control measures are in place,” the statement said, adding that Ontario did not have any confirmed cases of Ebola at the time.
The condition of the person was unclear, CTV News reported.
Canadians warned about against travelling to DRC
Global Affairs Canada said it was not aware of any Canadians affected by the rare type of Ebola that is ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo and has spread to Uganda.
In a travel health notice , the federal government warned Canadians to avoid travelling to the DRC, particularly the Ituri province, where imported cases linked to this outbreak have been reported.
“Consular officials are standing ready to provide assistance to those who are requesting it,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand during a call with reporters from Estonia on Wednesday.
In an email on Tuesday to the Toronto Sun , Public Health Agency of Canada spokesperson Mark Johnson said they were monitoring the situation “closely.
“ PHAC remains committed to supporting the global efforts to combat Ebola virus disease,” he said.
There are no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of Ebola that has been spreading in DRC and Uganda.
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Outbreak may have started months ago: WHO
According to the latest update from the World Health Organization, the recent outbreak has killed 139 people with 600 suspected cases flagged.
WHO officials said Wednesday that the outbreak may have started months ago in Central Africa and went undetected until a super-spreader event on May 5.
The strain of Ebola was identified in blood samples on May 15, said Anais Legand, the WHO’s technical lead for viral hemorrhagic fevers, at a briefing on Wednesday.
The first confirmed death took place on April 20, according to the WHO. Experts used social media posts to reconstruct the recent progress of the virus after the super-spreader event in early May.
The latest outbreak came just months after officials had reportedly contained an Ebola outbreak in a central DRC province with 64 cases and 43 deaths flagged by the WHO.
— With files from Jordan Ercit and AFP.