Gatineau girl tests negative for Ebola
A young girl in isolation at a Gatineau hospital has tested negative for the Ebola virus, the Outaouais health authority confirmed Saturday.
The three-year-old child had recently returned from Sierra Leone with her parents and health officials assessed her in isolation as part of a vigilant protocol in light of the epidemic in West Africa.
The girl is listed in stable condition and will remain under observation at hospital.
Karelle Kennedy, a spokesperson for the Outaouais region’s public health authority, confirmed the child had developed a fever and was isolated Friday morning as a precaution.
The health authority said they sent medical samples for testing at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
The girl was not believed to have been exposed to any health institutions or to anyone suffering from Ebola while in Sierra Leone.
“The chances that the test will be positive are extremely low,” said Kennedy.
Public health officials would not confirm which hospital the child was in, but the said there was no risk to medical staff.
“The child is still under observation and we are very cautious,” Kennedy said.
Ottawa public health officials confirmed that they were aware of the case but couldn’t speak to any specific details.
In West Africa, more than 1,500 people have died this year as a result of an outbreak of the Ebola virus. It is primarily affecting Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city.
Dr. Rosamund Lewis, an associate medical officer of health with Ottawa Public Health, said Ottawa and Gatineau’s public health authorities are working closely to ensure the region is well set up should an Ebola case present itself.
“The city is prepared. The hospitals are prepared,” she said. The risk to public health is “exceedingly low, vanishingly low,” she said.
Source: http://ottawacitizen.com/
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