Woman with mystery illness getting sicker

By Elizabeth Cohen
CNN Medical Correspondent

HAMILTON, Ontario (CNN) -- The woman hospitalized in Canada with a mystery illness has taken a turn for the worse and is now on life support and in critical condition, officials at Henderson Hospital said Thursday.

Doctors said they've ruled out the Ebola virus and Marburg hemorrhagic fever for the unidentified woman who flew to Toronto from the Democratic Republic of Congo over the weekend and went to the emergency room Sunday evening.

The doctors said they're continuing to test her for other hemorrhagic fevers and already know she has a mild case of malaria. Tests are being done at labs in Winnipeg and labs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Forty people at Henderson Hospital where the patient is being treated and 23 laboratory workers or healthcare providers at another hospital had possible close contact with the patient, according to health officials in Hamilton. Of all those health care workers with possible contacts, two people at Henderson Hospital are considered to be in the "high risk" category for contact with the patient.

High risk is defined as exposure to blood, vomit, urine or mucous from the patient. There are also two people in the community who have had high risk exposure to the patient. All of these individuals are being monitored and nobody is showing any symptoms at this time.

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Health Canada's Web Site / Site Web de Santé Canada
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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