Canada’s response to Ebola ‘discriminatory’ and ignores science, says Alberta’s top doctor

EDMONTON – Alberta’s chief medical officer of health is panning quarantines for healthy people returning from Ebola-infected countries.

Dr. James Talbot says such steps ignore scientific evidence that  people with Ebola are not infectious until they show symptoms.

Earlier this week, the federal government announced a policy that forces travellers who have come into contact with a known Ebola case to isolate themselves at home or at a facility for 21 days.

Returning health care workers are not automatically slotted into the high-risk category.

Instead, local public health authorities can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to require returning medical workers to isolate themselves.

Talbot says in a letter to the editor that quarantining health people only serves to stigmatize the illness and makes it harder for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to attract help at a time when they need it the most.

Talbot’s letter has been transcribed below:

“Don’t ignore the important facts about Ebola

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the Ebola virus. As Chief Medical Officer for Alberta, I do my best to stay out of the discussion. After all, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But, when it comes to public health, all of us should be informed by scientific fact.

People infected with Ebola virus transmit the disease through vomiting and diarrhea. They do not produce aerosols as part of the disease. Aerosols are typically produced by respiratory diseases. Measles, in contrast, produces aerosols and because of that is highly infectious.

Ebola can be transmitted through the air if we use procedures that can create aerosols, for example intubating a patient. That’s why Alberta Health and AHS recommend that healthcare workers wear enhanced personal protective equipment if they are performing these sorts of procedures on patients who may have Ebola.

A recent newspaper editorial was correct when it says that the virus may not show up in blood for three days in a person with early symptoms, but it misses the importance of this fact: people with Ebola are not infectious until they become symptomatic. Even when they first have fever, the amount of virus they have is quite low – and it’s actually fairly safe to be with people at that early stage. It’s not until three or four days later that the viral load really increases.

When it comes to Ebola, the only way for Albertans to be truly safe is to bring the disease under control in the three countries that have been badly affected. Ebola continues to kill people in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. It has crushed the healthcare system by increasing demand and killing the very healthcare workers needed to bring it under control. It cannot be stopped without outside assistance from compassionate countries.

In any outbreak situation, public health’s two biggest enemies are ignorance of the facts and fear. Together they are a recipe for unreasoning panic. Its antidote is acknowledgment of the facts and courage, and I know Albertans have an abundance of both. If Albertans really want to be safe, they should donate to agencies, like Doctors without Borders and the Red Cross, who are successfully fighting the disease, saving lives and helping to prevent it from coming here.

Quarantining those who return from countries affected by Ebola who have no symptoms ignores scientific evidence. It also hurts these countries when they need help the most as it may prevent people from going overseas to help contain this deadly virus. It is discriminatory and stigmatizing, and it makes it harder for the heroes who put their lives on the line to protect us.”