Health Ministers from across the country are meeting in Banff to discuss a range of health-care issues and say Canada is equipped to handle Ebola if it shows up here.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Centre for Disease Control confirmed the first diagnosed case of Ebola in North America at a Texas hospital.
A patient developed symptoms days after returning to Texas from Liberia and specimens collected were tested by a state lab and confirmed in a separate test by the Centre for Disease Control.
The man is now in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
Soon after news of the U.S. case broke, Canadian health officials in Banff sought to reassure the public that they are well-prepared for the virus.
“It’s important to reassure Canadians, that’s the one thing that we want to be certain we accomplish here, is North America is not West Africa, so we have right across this country, in every province and territory. We have extremely effective infection control measures in place and protocols. We learned a lot a decade ago through SARS and are in a position where we are all of us capable of successfully identifying and isolating and treating any potential cases of Ebola that might arrive in Canada,” said Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins from Banff on Tuesday.
Hoskins says the case in Texas is an example of the protocols and infection control measures working.
“That individual was detected, isolated, tested and found, in this case to be positive, so we’re of course very concerned, but to reassure Canadians, we have, I would argue, along with our cousins to the south, we have among the best infection control measures that exist throughout this country in our hospitals and through our public health officials,” said Hoskins.
Hoskins says Canada is prepared to deal with Ebola if it shows up here.
“All of us are working very closely with the federal government and their public health agency and officials to ensure that we are prepared, which we are, that we have protocols in place if there is a case of an individual who returns or arrives anywhere in Canada, we have very competent, exceptional, I would say, protocols in place to make sure that we’re able to capably deal with any suspected cases,” he said.
The Canadian government has issued a travel advisory to Canadians who may be travelling to areas affected by the outbreak.
Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose and Dr. Gregory Taylor, Chief Public Health Officer, commented on recent developments related to Ebola on Wednesday morning from Banff.
“We’re here today, first and foremost, to reassure Canadians that the Public Health Agency of Canada advises that the risk still remains very low and we have strong measures in place to protect Canadians,” said Federal Health Minister, Rona Ambrose.
Ambrose says they were made aware of the American case on Tuesday and say the patient never travelled through Canada.
"Canada is very well prepared with a number of systems in place to identify and prevent the spread of serious infectious diseases like Ebola," said Ambrose.
She says points of entry into the country are monitored 27/7 and that there are no direct flights from the affected areas into Canada. "Canada Border Services will continue to exercise increased screening of passengers entering Canada from affected countries."
Canada's Chief Public Health Officer says the disease is not easily spread.
"I want to reassure everyone that the risk to Canadians remains very low. The Ebola virus does not spread easily from person to person like a cold or a flu. It's spread through direct contact with infected bodily fluids not through casual contact," said Dr. Taylor.
Canada has now contributed over $35M in funding to improve treatment for those affected by the disease and for prevention education.
