Toronto - A sick woman who arrived in Toronto from a central African country and is now isolated in hospital could be the first person in North America to be infected with the deadly Ebola virus, Canadian officials said on Tuesday.
Doctors were still without a firm diagnosis on Tuesday for the woman, who flew to Toronto from the Democratic Republic of Congo via New York on Saturday. She was admitted to a hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, on Sunday evening with "serious" symptoms.
Ebola, which has no known cure, first emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire, in 1976. The last major Ebola outbreak, which began in Uganda in September, killed 173 people.
Most victims die from shock after days of high fever, chest pains, vomiting and extensive bleeding.
"We still don't have a diagnosis. We are still using the worst possible scenario because of her travel history," said Mark Loeb, infectious diseases expert at Hamilton Health Sciences.
Officials in Hamilton, a city just west of Toronto, told a news conference that samples of the woman's blood were flown to a special laboratory in Winnipeg on Monday and were also being sent to the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
A spokeswoman for the center said the samples were unlikely to arrive before Wednesday morning and by that time the Winnipeg lab may already have the diagnosis, as long as the virus is not the one type of hemorrhagic fever that it cannot test for.
Barbara Reynolds said the Winnipeg lab does not have the capability to test for a hemorrhagic fever called Crimean-Congo, so to be on the safe side it turned to the US center.
Health officials said the woman, quarantined in a sealed room, most likely came in close contact with only two people after her symptoms manifested themselves, which was not until her arrival in Hamilton.
"We are satisfied now that she did not become ill until after her arrival in Hamilton. This is fortunate because it means there is no risk in the travel setting," said Dr Monir Taha, a Canadian Health official.
"Of the more serious diseases we are considering, they are difficult to transmit from one person to another... they need to be exposed to blood or other bodily secretions," said Taha.
Loeb said test results were expected by Thursday and could show anything from a bacterial infection like meningitis to hemorrhagic fever like Ebola.
Viral hemorrhagic fevers are spread through human excretions such as blood, semen, saliva and mucous, but are not as contagious as other diseases such as tuberculosis, which is spread by airborne water droplets.
Federal Health Minister Alan Rock told reporters that the public should not jump to conclusions.
"This is obviously something where precautions should be taken, but it's important not to speculate... and it can take up to 48 hours to make a diagnosis," said Rock, adding that health officials are following a contingency plan for infectious diseases established a few years ago.
Outbreaks of Ebola are unlikely to be repeated in Canada because of sufficient hygienic hospital supplies, said physicians at the Toronto General hospital.
Officials from the World Health Organization said in Kampala on Tuesday that the epidemic in Uganda appeared to have run its course - no new outbreaks had been reported for 21 days - although they would wait another 21 days before giving the all-clear. - Reuters