SASKATOON – A man in isolation at a Saskatoon hospital has tested negative for the Ebola virus.
The World Health Organization tweeted out the test results, also stating he tested negative for other haemorrhagic fevers.
WHO says testing is continuing and he may have malaria. Those results should be known later on Tuesday.
The man was admitted to St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon after becoming seriously ill with a high fever and other symptoms after returning from Liberia. There are fears an Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Guinea, where over 50 people have died, has spread to Liberia.
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Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes and symptoms can take eight to 25 days to show up. Symptoms include fever and headaches. Death can occur in severe cases.
Hospital staff are taking precautions while caring for the man, including wearing masks, gowns, gloves and boots.
Health officials say there is no risk to the public.
“We recognized that there’s going to be a fair amount of concern and that’s why we wanted to go public with this as soon as possible and dispel some of those myths that are out there,” said Dr. Denise Werker, the deputy chief medical health officer for Saskatchewan.
In a release, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer said “ruling out the hemorrhagic viruses significantly reduces the risk to the people who have been in close contact with the patient.”
There has never been a confirmed case of a hemorrhagic virus in Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada said if a case was ever confirmed, alerts would be put out immediately and measures put in place to protect the public.
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