HEALTH

Canada's top health official heading to West Africa to view ebola response

The Canadian Press Published Friday, April 10, 2015 9:18PM EDT

In this photo taken on Monday, March 2, 2015, a health care worker prepares a colleague's Ebola virus protective gear at an Ebola virus clinic operated by the International Medical Corps in Makeni, Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization says Thursday, March 12, 2015, its tally of Ebola deaths has passed the grim milestone of 10,000, mostly in West Africa. (AP Photo/ Michael Duff)

Text:

TORONTO -- Canada's chief public health officer is heading to West Africa to tour Ebola response efforts in Sierra Leone and Guinea.

This is the first trip to the Ebola zone for Dr. Gregory Taylor.

He says Canada needs information to assess what role it can play in the effort to stop the outbreak.

He'll also be gathering information on how to rebuild the battered health-care systems of the three affected countries.

Taylor is scheduled to head out tomorrow and is set to return April 20.

Taylor says about 70 Canadians are currently working on the Ebola response in West Africa, deployed through a range of agencies and non-governmental organizations.