The CEO of the Middlesex-London Health Unit says the two suspected Ebola patients in London may have tested negative for the virus, but they aren't out of the woods yet.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Christopher Mackie says, while preliminary blood tests haven't detected any sign of Ebola, the two family members at the London Health Sciences Centre’s Victoria Hospital will have to undergo further testing before they can be given the all-clear.
Mackie says the patients remain isolated in a negative pressure room as a precaution.
"They don't have any significant clinical symptoms at this point that require any substantial treatment," he says. "They're being monitored closely and really it's a matter of isolation to make sure that, in the unlikely event that this does turn out to be Ebola, all appropriate precautions have taken place."
Both the patients had spent time in a refugee camp in Guinea before coming to the Kitchener-Waterloo area. On Tuesday, the two were transferred to Victoria Hospital, which is one of the province’s designated treatment hospitals for Ebola.
"The virus is an interesting one in that it doesn't show up until about two or three days of symptoms," says Mackie. "We're not quite at the 72-hour state where can have a really conclusive test that (shows) the patients are negative for Ebola."
Mackie says the final test results for the two patients will be released on Friday at the earliest.
- With files from Ashton Patis.
