Ebola test negative for Canadian Forces mission member

A man quarantined in a Belleville, Ont., hospital with Ebola-like symptons has tested negative for the virus.

Samples sent to the National Microbiology lab in Winnipeg were negative, QHC Belleville General Hospital said in a statement late Tuesday.

"We knew this was a low risk case and were expecting these results," Dr. Dick Zoutman, Quinte Health Care Chief of Staff. said in the statement. "Even so, this shows our surveillance and infection control practices are working. I am extremely pleased with the response of all the health professionals involved with this case." 

The patient arrived at the hospital emergency room early Monday and was placed in isolation within four minutes of arrival, the hospital said.

While the hospital maintained the anonymity of the patient, CBC News has learned he was a member of the Canadian Forces aircrew who dropped off supplies to combat the disease in Sierra Leone.

Sources told CBC News the patient was part of the aircrew who delivered 128,000 face shields to Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The Hercules aircraft left CFB Trenton, Ont., on Oct. 6 to deliver the protective medical equipment donated to the WHO by the government of Canada for the Ebola response.

Risk 'very low'

Dr. Gregory Taylor, Canada's chief public health officer, said in a public statement earlier Tuesday the risk to Canadians remains "very low."

Taylor said he attended a meeting today of the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health​, a national group made up of individuals from various sectors and levels of government​, to discuss hospital procedures currently in place to limit the spread of infection. 

"We discussed ways to implement our guidance for how to properly use personal protective equipment in hospitals, and how we further strengthen them, in the unlikely event an Ebola case arrives in Canada.

"Following a productive discussion, we agreed that although we are prepared, we must continue to be vigilant and improve our systems and preparedness," Taylor said in a written statement.

The hospital in Belleville had been working on a protocol since July, when the number of Ebola began rising in West Africa.

"Within four minutes, I am proud to say, [the patient] was put in appropriate isolation and the team using the protocol that had been developed over the summer, many months ago, activated our infection-control protocols and managed things very, very well," Zoutman told CBC News.

Zoutman said at a press conference Monday that there were "any number" of diseases that could be contracted when travelling.

"Given his symptoms and that he was not exposed to any ill people during a very short stopover in West Africa, it is extremely unlikely that he would test positive for Ebola," he told reporters.

Testing for Ebola takes between 24 and 36 hours to complete.