TORONTO – The first case of Ebola diagnosed in North America has been confirmed: A patient is in isolation in a Texas hospital after he tested positive with the deadly disease.
Canada had its share of suspected cases that turned up with negative results, but on the heels of this first diagnosis health officials are reassuring the public that the risk is “very low.”
“It is important to reassure Canadians — North America is not West Africa. We have right across this country – in every province and territory – we have extremely effective infection control measures in place and protocols,” said Ontario’s Health Minister Eric Hoskins.
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The U.S. patient – whose identity hasn’t been released – travelled from Liberia to Dallas. He left the West African nation plagued with the virus on Sept. 19 and arrived in Texas the next day to visit family. Within four days, he sought medical attention but was released.
Last Sunday, his condition worsened and he ended up at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital where he’s in isolation. His test results confirmed Ebola on Tuesday.
It was bound to happen, experts say
“It was inevitable,” according to Jason Tetro, a Canadian microbiologist and author.
“It should not be surprising considering we have tens of thousands of people from affected regions coming to Canada and the U.S. Identifying the one or few people who have either come into contact with Ebola or have Ebola showing up at our airports is the key,” he said.
READ MORE: Questions and answers about the U.S. Ebola case
Dr. Joel Kettner, medical director of Winnipeg’s International Centre for Infectious Diseases, suggests cases could arrive in Canada, too. (He was Manitoba’s chief medical officer of health from 1999 to 2012.)
“We should expect the possibility for sure, if not the probability, especially depending on how long this outbreak lasts,” he said.
WATCH: Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed concerns in the House of Commons Wednesday about what steps his government would be taking to prevent a possible Ebola outbreak in Canada
How common is travel between Canada and West Africa?
Experts here feel confident the risk remains low that Canada will see a case, though Dr. Kamran Khan says that the larger the outbreak grows, the greater the risk becomes.
Currently, travel to Canada makes up only about 1.5 per cent of all international travel from the three outbreak countries, with about half of that going to Quebec, said Khan, who practises at St. Michael’s Hospital. The rest of the travel to Canada from those countries is spread among other provinces.
But should the outbreak expand further, the mathematics change.
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“Then the likelihood of spread to different parts of the world, possibly including Canada, may look very different than they do currently,” Khan told the Canadian Press.
“And I do think if things persist or they grow then it probably is just a matter of time before we will see the odd case imported into a country like Canada.”
What’s next for the first U.S. patient?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the patient won’t be transferred to a special isolation unit that was used in other high-profile cases of aid workers returning to the U.S.
The Dallas hospital is “well prepared” to look after its single case of Ebola.
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He’ll need to be kept hydrated and fed via IV drip. The CDC says experimental treatments might also be an option for him.
Health authorities will also have their hands full piecing together the patient’s every move from Sept. 20 when he arrived to when he was put into isolation. Anyone who came into close contact with him will need to be monitored for about 21 days – the longest period of time for the disease’s incubation.
The CDC’s Dr. Tom Friedan already warned that the man may have passed on the disease and secondary cases could be recorded but Friedan’s certain only a handful of people could have been exposed.
Does Canada need to ramp up its security against the disease?
No, Kettner and Tetro say. Based on how the country’s already handled its suspected cases, Canada’s health care system is taking the threat of a potential case seriously.
“There’s absolutely no reason to worry or to panic,” Tetro told Global News.
“The public health care system is acting in a way to anticipate that possibility rather than deny that it will happen. It’s preparing public health officials and thinking through what would happen all along the way through travel border crossings, advice to individuals and preparing for how to treat and respond to a case,” Kettner said.
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During an outbreak such as this one, there are special communications to and heightened awareness among health care providers.
Patients are now screened for a fever, cough or trouble breathing. They’re asked a critical, telling question: have they recently returned from another country?
The communication lines — between hospitals to provincial ministries, between provinces and Ottawa, and between agencies and the media to the public — are opened.
Quarantine officers are at all of Canada’s international airports — Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, for example — and they work around the clock, seven days a week, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
And then there’s the Quarantine Act, which would help in detection and management of sick travellers. It requires travellers to report to CBSA agents if they’re ill upon arrival. Airlines and flight attendants are also required to report sick passengers coming off of international flights.
How did the patient fly into the U.S. with these precautions in place?
Symptoms don’t immediately appear – it can take between two and 21 days after exposure. Kettner and Tetro suggest that the range is typically between six to 10 days.
Then infected people encounter fever, headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and unexplained bleeding.
But the disease couldn’t have spread on the airplane because the man wasn’t sick yet. Ebola spreads only through close contact with the bodily fluids of someone who has symptoms. People aren’t contagious until symptoms begin.
– With files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press
carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
Follow @Carmen_Chai
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