Canada rolls out Ebola screening questions at airports

Passengers entering Canada through major border crossings and airports will now be screened with questions about recent travel and possible symptoms linked to Ebola, as the outbreak continues to expand in several regions of Africa.

During a Friday news briefing, Canada’s chief public health officer called the situation “serious and changing,” responding to concerns about whether travel limits might be introduced for countries currently affected by the virus.

“It’s important we look at how effective things like travel bans are,” said Dr. Joss Reimer, when asked if Canada would active any travel bans, as reported by CTV News.

“We need to be looking at whether there is any evidence the outbreak is currently escaping the area it is concentrated.”

Reimer said the decision to impose any travel restrictions would rest with the federal cabinet, while the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) would serve in an advisory role.

Along with increased screening at entry points, travellers returning to Canada from affected areas are being advised to watch for symptoms for at least 21 days.

Testing will be limited to people who show symptoms, similar to a recent case in Ontario involving someone who had returned from Ethiopia and was experiencing symptoms that could have been associated with several different illnesses.

Reimer said the individual was tested “as a precaution,” and the results came back negative.

Global risk level is low: WHO

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) increased its assessment of the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising the public health threat level from “high” to “very high.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of WHO, said the risk across Africa remained “high,” while noting that the global risk level was still considered “low.”

There is currently no approved vaccine for the rare strain of Ebola driving this outbreak, which has a fatality rate of roughly one in three infected individuals.

“The challenges in the early part of this outbreak is that it’s been difficult to detect and has probably been circulating for weeks to months,” said Dr. Rob Fowler, a former consultant for the WHO.

He said this particular strain of Ebola is more difficult to detect using standard testing equipment, meaning the true extent of the outbreak in central Africa may not yet be fully understood.

Fowler also says the risk to Canadians remains low.

“Frankly, this is not a disease that is at all likely to be spreading within the Canadian context,” he said, noting Ebola is a virus that spreads very differently than other pathogens like measles and Sars-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

“I think for sure, there’s a heightened attention to the virus and it’s potential for spread through travel, but the risks to places outside endemic regions are very, very low.”

30-day entry suspension in U.S.

Last Monday, U.S. authorities announced a 30-day entry suspension for non-citizens who had recently visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda.

The policy led to an Air France flight heading to Detroit being redirected to Montreal after a traveller from the DRC mistakenly boarded the aircraft.

After arriving in Montreal, the passenger was evaluated by a public health official, found to have no symptoms, and was sent back to their original departure location.

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