A woman showing Ebola-like symptoms who recently travelled to West Africa has been admitted to a Calgary hospital, but health officials say it is "highly unlikely" the woman has the deadly virus.
The patient arrived at the Peter Lougheed Centre late Wednesday night. After hospital officials noted her symptoms and recent travel history, she was transferred to a special infectious isolation unit at the South Health Campus.
Dr. Richard Musto, the medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services' Calgary zone, would not reveal much about the woman except to say she had recently arrived from one of the three countries currently fighting Ebola.
He said the risk of this patient having Ebola is "very low" because she had no known exposure to the disease.
Nevertheless, he said health workers would continue to manage the patient as a potential Ebola case, although they believe it highly unlikely she is infected.
Samples from Ebola tests have been sent to a provincial lab in Edmonton, but it will take a few days for the results.
The patient will be held until then. Even if her tests for Ebola come back negative, her temperature and health will be monitored at home for 21 days.
Musto said there are many common gastrointestinal infections that the patient may have caught overseas or while in Calgary that could explain her symptoms.
Since the spring, Ebola has killed more than 5,600 people in West Africa, most of them in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
