A Quebec girl who recently returned from a trip to Sierra Leone is under observation in a Gatineau hospital after showing possible symptoms for the Ebola virus.

The girl, along with her mother, had been visiting family in the West African country.

Outaouais Region health officials say the girl was brought to the hospital with a high fever, and is now in an isolation unit.

However, officials don’t believe the girl came into contact with anyone carrying Ebola. The only way to contract the virus is through contact with a carrier’s bodily fluids.

Every suspected case of the virus in North America has tested negative.

The World Health Organization warns that 20,000 people could become infected with Ebola before the outbreak in West Africa is contained.

So far, more than 1,550 people have died from the virus.

With files from CTV Ottawa’s Claudia Cautillo