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Montreal

Quarantine case at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital not Ebola

A patient who was quarantined at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal Saturday after exhibiting some signs of Ebola has tested negative for the lethal virus.

Hospital's infectious diseases department says precautions had to be taken even if chance of Ebola was slim

The Ebola virus, above, has caused panic in West Africa where it has claimed more than 1,400 lives. North American hospitals are also being cautious, placing people under quarantine who have travelled to the region and are exhibiting symptoms of the illness. (Cynthia Goldsmith/CDC/Handout via Reuters)

A patient who was quarantined at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal on Saturday afterexhibiting some signs of Ebola has tested negative for the deadly virus.

The patient had a fever afterrecently returningfrom a trip to West Africa.

The hospital issued a statement on Saturday morning saying that it had quarantined the patient as a precaution even though the chances of the person actually having Ebola were quite slim.

Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital quarantined a person on Saturday after they came back from West Africa exhibiting some symptoms of Ebola. (Radio-Canada)

Dr. Karl Weiss, chief of the hospitals infectious diseases department, said the patients tests wererun through a specialized lab in Winnipeg.

"You can't take any chance, so this is what happened with someone who just returned from Guinea within the last 21 days, came to the hospital with fever and other general symptoms non-specific symptoms and because of that we have no choice but to put in place a certain protocol and make sure," Weiss said.

He would not reveal any details about the patient, citing doctor-patient confidentiality.

Public health officials said they are following the possible cases of Ebola in Quebec very closely and that they have asked the entire health care network to be vigilant in identifying signs of the viralinfection.

TheEbola outbreak ravaging West Africa has so far killed 1,427 people, according to the World Health Organization.