Ebola test on Calgary patient likely to be negative, AHS official says

A patient at the South Health Campus being tested for Ebola is extremely unlikely to have the disease, says a senior official.

I implore you to not speculate.- medical officer Dr. Richard Musto

The woman, who recently arrived from one of the three countries in Africa most affected by the outbreak, arrived at the emergency room at Calgary's Peter Lougheed Hospital showing signs of having a potential contagious illness late Wednesday night.

She was immediately transferred to isolation at the South Health Campus — one of two Calgary hospitals that went through training earlier this year to handle cases of Ebola — said Alberta Health Services spokesman James Stevenson.

While several infection prevention and control protocols were enacted out of an abundance of caution, Calgary zone medical officer Dr. Richard Musto said the chances the patient has Ebola are very low.

“The patient is not a risk to the public,” he said.

Woman also being tested for other diseases

Musto said the woman is also being tested for other diseases common in the African country she had travelled to, including malaria and other gastro-intestinal infections.

Results from lab tests being done at a facility in Edmonton are expected later this week, he said. Further details about the patient’s illness will not be provided until a diagnosis is confirmed, AHS said.

“So finally I implore you to not speculate,” Musto said.

All patients who were in the emergency room at the Peter Lougheed hospital will be followed up with, Musto said. That facility was briefly shut while crews carried out stringent cleaning and disinfection late Wednesday night after the patient was transferred, Musto said.

Musto stressed that the health-care system would be ready in the event of an actual case of Ebola.

“Be assured that we are prepared to manage any case of Ebola,” he said.