HALIFAX – Nova Scotia now has a way to test for the potentially fatal Ebola virus.
Dr. Todd Hatchette, the Chief of Service for Microbiology at Capital Health, said the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg has distributed an Ebola test to provinces and territories.
The province received the test within the last two weeks and Hatchette is now training staff on how to use it.
“We’ve been able to validate this test and have the protocols written. Nova Scotia can now identify Ebola if a patient was to present with compatible symptoms,” he said.
“With this test, we should be fairly rapidly able to tell you if a person doesn’t have Ebola. We would still require confirmation of the test at the present time but as the situation evolves and people become more comfortable with the results, a negative test, you can be pretty confident it rules out Ebola.”
Hatchette also said a positive test for Ebola would still need confirmation from the National Microbiology Lab.
The test, which Hatchette said hasn’t been used yet, will only be available in Halifax.
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