WATCH: The BC Nurses Union is sounding the alarm tonight about Metro Vancouver’s readiness to deal with the Ebola virus. Aaron McArthur reports.
As the threat of the Ebola virus is putting health authorities around the world on high alert, B.C.’s top doctor says the risk to British Columbians remains very low.
Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall says the chances of someone in British Columbia getting exposed to Ebola are ‘vanishingly small if not zero,’ and there are more important things for British Columbians to worry about.
He says there are currently no confirmed cases of Ebola in B.C. or Canada as a whole.
Three people in Metro Vancouver have been tested for the Ebola virus, but came back negative.
Kendall says, at the moment, there is no policy of stating that someone is being tested for Ebola.
“If we have a case of Ebola, we will certainly make that public,” he says. “We were able to rule out Ebola in all three cases.”
Kendall says based on their response to the three suspected cases, he is confident they will do a good job if they are presented with an Ebola case.
WATCH: Dr. Perry Kendall addresses Ebola concerns in B.C.
Ebola has killed more than 4,000 people in an outbreak the World Health Organization has called “the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times.”
A new Global News / Ipsos Reid poll released today suggests 79 per cent of Canadians say they’re either very or somewhat concerned that the Ebola virus “may be transmitted to Canada by a person who has visited the outbreak areas in Africa who has unwittingly infected others through travel and contact.”
That, as the World Health Organization confirms the death rate in the current outbreak has risen to 70 per cent.
Ebola virus does not spread easily from person to person or casual contact.
It requires direct contact with infected bodily fluids, like blood, vomit and feces.
READ MORE: Ebola: 5 things we learned from the U.S., Spanish cases
Kendall reassures the guidelines for what personal protective equipment to use, as well as how and when, are appropriate.
“We are following international accepted standards,” he says.
He also admits the infection of of the Dallas nurse who caught Ebola while treating a Liberian patient who died of the disease was both unexpected and a call to reassess current processes.
We need to assure our health care professionals on the front lines that they will have the tools they need and will feel comfortable and competent in using them.
Kendall says he has heard concerns from the President of the BC Nurses’ Union.
“Other provinces have similarly heard concerns from front line staff.”
BC Nurses’ Union President Gayle Duteil told Global News they are calling for better education, training and communication.
“The nurses need the resources and the support in place prior to any Ebola patients arriving, not after the fact,” says Duteil. “That is just not acceptable.”
He says they are working with a wide range of clinical experts including physicians, infection control experts, nurses, B.C. ambulance service, laboratory experts and public health officials.
A special committee will be set up to ensure a coordinated response between regional health authorities should a case of Ebola arise in B.C.
Kendall says the first priority will be to familiarize or re-familiarize health care workers with personal protective equipment, so that if they have to use it, they can do so safely and with confidence.
“We need to make sure that people on the front lines are comfortable with putting this equipment on and taking it off, because it can be cumbersome. It can be a 31-step process that has to be followed meticulously” and requires two people to carry it out.
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