Test results from patient with Ebola-like symptoms expected Sunday

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Public health officials in Ontario say they expect to have test results before Monday concerning a patient with flu-like symptoms that are similar to those of the Ebola virus.

The patient has been placed in isolation in a hospital in Brampton, near Toronto, but officials say it’s strictly a precaution.

Officials say they took the step because the patient recently returned from Nigeria, one of the West African nations recently affected by an outbreak of the disease.

However they also point out the symptoms of Ebola are also similar to many more common diseases, such as malaria or the flu.

While health officials say they are on “heightened alert”, they say Ebola poses a low risk to Canadians.

The samples have been sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, the only facility in Canada set up to handle such work.

The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed at least 960 lives.

Transmission of Ebola from person to person is largely through direct contact with blood and body fluids.