Canada pulls scientists from Ebola zone, prepares for unlikely arrival of deadly virus

The Ebola crisis continues to spread overseas, picking up speed and defying international attempts to slow its movement. And while the likelihood of reaching Canada is still considered low, health agencies across the province are preparing for the worst-case scenario at home.

At the latest count, the Ebola epidemic has spread to four countries and threatened several others. The World Health Organization has confirmed more than 3,000 cases and 1,550 deaths in Gui9nea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

The agency admits the spread of the outbreak is not slowing the way they had hoped; in fact, it appears to have accelerated over the past 21 days. On Thursday, the group embarked on a strategy focused on stopping the spread of the virus to other countries.

The aim is to stop ongoing Ebola transmission worldwide within 6–9 months, while rapidly managing the consequences of any further international spread," reads a WHO statement.

"It responds to the urgent need to dramatically scale up the international response. Nearly 40% of the total number of reported cases have occurred within the past three weeks."

The depth of the issue has led Canada to take drastic steps to remove a group of scientists from Sierra Leone, after some living in their hotel compound contracted the virus.

The Public Health Agency of Canada told the Canadian Press that the three scientists were in good health and at a low risk of having contracted the deadly virus. But the team will be pulled from the World Health Organization outpost where they have been working. A charter plane has been sent to retrieve the group of Canadians, who will be assessed by a quarantine officer upon their return to Canada, and kept in isolation for 21 days.

The quarantine of Canadian scientists, even those said to be at a low risk of having been infected, should bring the matter closer to home for those in this country.

The epidemic continues to spread across Africa, with new cases being reported daily and a separate outbreak being identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Meantime, threats and fears are beginning to appear in other countries, including America, where at least on scientist has already returned after being exposed to Ebola overseas.

The Center for Disease Control says it is taking precautions to keep the American people safe.

Preparations have already begun taking place in Canada, as well. The Globe and Mail reports that Toronto East General Hospital has begun holding a series of Ebola preparedness workshops, helping staff understand how to identify potential Ebola cases and how to respond.

“This hospital dealt with a lot of SARS cases,” Barley Chironda, senior infection prevention practitioner, told the newspaper. “As a result, for our staff, they’re really anxious because everyone remembers SARS. It’s paramount for us to really show that we’re pro-staff and we’re really out to make sure that they’re safe.”

Earlier this month, two patients in Montreal, and anther in Brampton, Ont., were feared to have contracted Ebola after showing symptoms after returning from trips overseas. The cases all tested negative, but it certainly cemented the reality of the threat at home. Karl Weiss, director of infectious diseases at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, told reporters that hospitals in the province have put in place stringent measures to monitor for potential Ebola cases.

Other hospitals are taking similar steps. Hamilton is preparing to hold staff workshops, while Alberta's ministry of health has released an information statement on the virus. Manitoba's public health unit also released a memo putting health care providers on alert.

"While the risk to most travellers is considered low, healthcare workers should be vigilant for persons with symptoms compatible with (Ebola virus disease) and who have returned from affected countries within 21 days of symptom onset," reads the alert.

Earlier in the Ebola outbreak, the Canadian Medical Association issued guidelines for all Canadian doctors, which included notes on what to watch for and, perhaps more importantly, how to protect themselves from the spread of Ebola.

Considering first responders are at the highest danger of contracting infectious viruses such as SARS and Ebola, it is a key point.

Dr. Eleni Galanis, a physician epidemiologist with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, previously told Yahoo Canada News that hospitals across the country have protocols in place for how to handle the threat of Ebola.

"There is a plan and there are protocols which are not that different from how we deal with a lot of issues," she said. "Obviously Ebola is a concern because it is so highly fatal, 90 per cent of patients die, so there is a heightened concern about it."

Now, those protocols are being reviewed, underlined, practiced and perfected. The spread of Ebola continues in West Africa, and if the WHO can't staunch its growth, the fears of it spreading to other continents could go from unlikely to realized in the blink of an eye.

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