Ontario patient tested for Ebola as precaution: Barrie hospital

BARRIE, Ont. – Doctors in Toronto are running tests on a patient who is showing symptoms consistent with the Ebola virus, though medical officials are stressing the risk is low.

Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie says the patient recently returned from West Africa and was brought to the hospital north of Toronto on Saturday morning.

The hospital says doctors decided to transfer the patient to a designated Ebola response centre in Toronto as a precaution.

Ebola symptoms are similar to a number of other diseases such as malaria and typhoid fever.

The hospital says medical staff who came in contact with the patient were wearing full protective equipment.

There has never been a confirmed Ebola case in Canada, though a number of people have been tested as a precaution since the massive outbreak in West Africa that is blamed for more than 10, 000 deaths.