Ebola ruled out in patient at Moncton's Dumont hospital

There was an Ebola scare at a Moncton hospital on Wednesday, health officials have confirmed.

It involved a patient at theDr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre's emergency room, said officials from the Department of Health.

The patienthad been in West Africa, where Ebola is present,and showed some symptoms of the killer disease, but not a fever,and therefore does not meet the criteria,Jennifer Russell, acting chief medical officer of health, said during a news conference on Thursday.

"This is not a confirmed case," said Russell.

Asked whether it's a possible case, she replied: "Currently, no."

"Some of the symptoms could have been considered to be Ebola, but because they don't meet the case criteria we are really just using a lot of precautionary measures because of what has happened in Dallas recently and what has happened in Spain, we want to make sure we are taking all the precautions necessary to protect the public," she said.

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Some of those precautions include putting thepatient in fullisolation and disinfection measures, said Russell.

The patient's symptoms are subsiding, she said.

There are no confirmed cases of Ebola in the province, stressedRussell.

But she says anyone travelling to affected regions should be aware there is a 21-day incubation period before symptoms begin.

International health authorities are currentlytrying to contain what is being called "the largest and most complex" outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in history.

At least 8,033 people have been infected so far during the months-long outbreak and nearly 3,900 of them have died, according to theWorld Health Organization.

There is no known treatment or licensedvaccine.

The Moncton scare comes on the heels of the death of the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States.

Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, of Liberia, died on Wednesday. He had been kept in isolation at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas since Sept. 28.

But Duncan was initially sent home when he had visited the hospital with a fever a few days earlier, despite having told staff he had been in West Africa. He returned after his condition worsened.

Federal Health MinisterRonaAmbroseannounced Wednesday that Canada is stepping up precautions and will start implementing border screenings to try and prevent Ebola from entering the country.

Quarantine officers will be stationed at six airports across the country: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Ottawa and Calgary.

The United Stateshas also announced plans to use enhanced airport screening for incoming passengers at the five airports that handle most flights from the affected West African countries.

Most cases in the West Africa outbreak have come from human-to-human transmission, according to the World Health Organization.

Symptoms of Ebola generally appear within two to 21 days of transmission.

They initially include sudden fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, according to the WorldHealth Organization. Next, a patient will demonstrate vomiting,diarrhea, rashand symptoms of impairedkidney and liver function. Some people will have internal and external bleeding as well.

Doctors can providerehydrationand treat specific symptoms, which improves the chances of survival. Scientists have also developed some experimental vaccines.

The current outbreak started in West Africa, with the first confirmed case in Guinea in December 2013, according tothe European Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.