Officials await tests on possible Ebola victim

WEB EXCLUSIVE Bill Delaney: Ebola scare in Canada

HAMILTON, Ontario -- Health officials are awaiting test results to determine if a woman who traveled to Canada from Africa is ill with the Ebola virus.

Doctors at Henderson Hospital have run a complete battery of tests on the woman, including tests for other hemorrhagic fevers, but said in a news conference they may never find out what disease the woman is suffering from.

"We many never know" what she has, said Dr. Douglas MacPherson of Health Canada, the national health department. "But in terms of the diagnostic testing, we will have a yes/no type response certainly out of Winnipeg, within the two or three day frame that we were talking about," he added.

If the woman turns out to have the Ebola virus, it would be the first known case of the often-fatal disease in North America.

The woman, whose name is not being released, was in serious but stable condition in an isolation room at Henderson Hospital after arriving there Sunday night.

"She is still seriously ill but there are some indications she is improving," one doctor said.

VIDEO CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has more on the possible Ebola case in Canada Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    RESOURCES Follow the trail of the Ebola virus

Blood samples from the woman also have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Viral hemorrhagic fevers are spread through human excretions such as blood, semen, saliva and mucus, and are not as contagious as airborne illnesses.

"We're using the worst possible case scenario because of the travel history and taking the precaution for a viral hemorrhagic fever," said Dr. Mark Loeb with Henderson Hospital, part of the Hamilton Health Sciences Corp.

The woman flew from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the New York area and on to Toronto, where she arrived Saturday. Officials said she showed no symptoms on the plane flight.

"This person did not become ill until after arrival in Hamilton," said Dr. Monir Taha with Hamilton Public Health. "This is fortunate because it means that we do not have to worry about there being risks in the travel settings."

Taha said two people in the community outside the hospital have been identified as having had close contact with the woman and officials have told them they are at possible risk. He said the two are acquainted with the woman, but he would not elaborate on their identities.

The type of contact, he said, was most likely cleaning up the woman's vomit or diarrhea.

In addition, Loeb said about 10 hospital staffers had "close contact" with the woman before she was moved to the isolation room.

"We're talking about exposure to mucus membranes, to blood, saliva or other types of secretions. Those would be the highest risk individuals. From a hospital perspective, we are identifying people who fit into those categories," he said.

"It is not a panic situation. There are very few people who ... we actually consider high risk."

Medical personnel wear masks, gowns, gloves and even carry shields when treating the woman to limit possible exposure to her illness.

The woman was brought to the emergency room around 7:30 p.m. Sunday. She was treated there before doctors realized the severity of her condition and implemented the nation's viral hemorrhagic contingency plan, an emergency procedure to deal with possible exotic diseases.

"This is the first of this kind," MacPherson said, referring to the implementation of the contingency plan. "This worked extremely well. From literally minutes of this being identified as a situation of public health consequences, all of the appropriate levels and agencies were notified and upgraded their level of alertness.

"This was the right thing to do."

Ebola has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976. It was named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it was first found. There have been no known cases in North America.

Symptoms include high fever, headache, muscle aches, stomach pain, fatigue and diarrhea. They typically appear within a few days of becoming infected. The disease also causes massive internal bleeding and often results in death.

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CDC: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
World Health Organization: Ebola hemorrhagic fever
Institute for Molecular Virology: Ebola Outbreaks

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