Canada deploys multi-disciplinary team to tackle Ebola in Guinea and Ebola Rapid Response Team participates in Nova Scotia exercise
March 4, 2015 - Halifax, NS - Public Health Agency of Canada
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, and Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Gregory Taylor, today announced Canada’s ongoing commitment to domestic Ebola preparedness and that the Government of Canada has shifted its support in deployment to deploy a team of specialists from the Public Health Agency of Canada to build lasting public health capacity to Guinea to support the global Ebola response.
Canada’s Ebola virus disease Rapid Response Team (RRT), headed by the Associate Deputy Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Dr. Howard Njoo, met today with Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Strang, and other health officials to practise the province’s Ebola protocols and guidelines in an exercise.
This meeting is a follow-up to a previous exercise that Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness jointly conducted last October with the RRT, and the latest in a series of joint exercises involving the RRT and provincial and territorial health officials across Canada. Today’s exercise involves practicing real-time responses with people acting as patients as well as table-top scenarios to allow Nova Scotia health officials to test the province's protocols and guidelines for responding in the event of an Ebola case in the province.
Provincial and territorial health authorities, healthcare organizations, and associations across Canada have undertaken extensive planning and preparation activities since the Ebola outbreak began in Africa. However, containing the spread of an infectious disease like Ebola requires collaboration across all levels of government and the health sector. Given that operational needs in each provincial and territorial jurisdiction may differ, planning exercises are an important component to ensuring mutual preparedness.
The Government of Canada’s RRTs are comprised of Public Health Agency experts who are ready to deploy upon request and specifically equipped to provide surge capacity, additional resources and complementary expertise to provincial/territorial and local health authorities if a case of Ebola occurs in Canada.
A small team of five French-speaking emergency management, epidemiology and border health specialists from the Public Health Agency of Canada has been mobilized under the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network to collaborate with the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team currently in Guinea. Additional employees may also be deployed at a later date, depending on evolving needs on the ground.
As the nature of the outbreak changes, the region requires different kinds of support and Canada has the expertise to address these changing needs.
The team will deploy for six to eight weeks. Before deploying overseas, the team spent time in Atlanta, Georgia to receive training with CDC personnel. The team will travel to Guinea. Once in Guinea, the team will provide French-speaking emergency management, epidemiological and exit screening expertise.
The Government of Canada remains committed to aiding in the response to this outbreak, both for humanitarian reasons and to protect global public health.
“Despite the fewer number of new cases of Ebola, the world cannot afford to let its guard down and we must remain vigilant. Canada is proud to deploy this team of multi-disciplinary specialists to help bring an end to the outbreak in West Africa and to contribute our considerable expertise where it is needed most.”
Honourable Rona Ambrose
Minister of Health
“The Agency has an important and unique role to play in the global response, providing leading expertise and capabilities that can address the evolving needs of Ebola affected countries. The shift in Canada’s support to focus on public health, border health and emergency management expertise are but another stream of meaningful support that we can contribute as part of the global response.”
Dr. Gregory Taylor
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
“You can never be too ready when preparing to respond to an infectious disease such as Ebola. Again, Nova Scotia has demonstrated its readiness and ability to protect the health of its citizens in the event of a first case, as we continue our work with provincial and territorial health partners to further refine our domestic planning and coordination efforts.”
Dr. Howard Njoo
Associate Deputy Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
“Although the risk of Ebola in Nova Scotia remains low, our system’s readiness is a priority. Today’s exercise is designed to practice using our plan for responding to Ebola or other similar infectious diseases. The more we practice, the more we improve and increase confidence in our health system’s readiness to respond.”
Dr. Robert Strang
Nova Scotia Chief Medical Officer of Health
Michael Bolkenius
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
Federal Minister of Health
(613) 957-0200
Media Relations
Public Health Agency of Canada
(613) 957-2983
Tony Kiritsis
Media Relations
Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness
(902) 424-0585
