Patient in isolation Gatineau, Que., hospital is being tested for Ebola

GATINEAU, Que. – A girl has been put in isolation at a hospital in Gatineau, Que., as a precautionary measure and is being tested for Ebola after coming down with a fever following a recent trip to West Africa.

Karelle Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Outaouais region public health, says a blood test was sent to a laboratory Friday afternoon and that the results should be back Saturday.

She says the child was not in contact with health groups or an infected person in Africa and that health officials strongly believe that the test will be negative.

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

Fever is a common symptom that is also characteristic of the often deadly virus.

Last week, a patient at a Montreal hospital tested negative for the virus, and earlier this month testing confirmed a patient in Brampton, Ont., did not have Ebola.

More than 1,500 people have died so far in the largest Ebola outbreak on record.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has advised against all non-essential travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and for travellers to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo to take special precautions.