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An Ontario resident who recently travelled to East Africa is being tested for Ebola, according to the province’s health ministry.
In an email to CBC News Thursday, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Health said that the patient is being assessed in hospital. “Out of an abundance of caution” the person is being tested for a variety of infectious diseases, including Ebola, as they recently travelled to the region which is experiencing a large and deadly outbreak, the spokesperson said.
“All appropriate infection prevention and control measures are in place,” reads part of the ministry’s statement.
“There are currently no confirmed cases of Ebola in Ontario.”
The ministry did not say whether the person is currently experiencing symptoms or where in Ontario they are located.
This comes just days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda one of international concern.
The WHO says there are about 600 suspected cases and at least 139 suspected deaths from the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. The outbreak was first confirmed by health authorities in that region on Friday.
The Bundibugyo strain of the virus does not currently have any treatments or vaccines.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids. The symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.
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