Mystery Disease Puts Canadian Train in Quarantine
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mystery Disease Puts Canadian Train in Quarantine*
A train in Canada with about 280 people on board has been put under
quarantine, after one passenger died and several others reported
flu-like symptoms.
The authorities say they do not believe there is a connection between
the death and the illnesses.
The train was travelling from Vancouver to Toronto when a woman in her
60s fell ill and died on Friday morning.
The authorities say they are keeping passengers and crew on the train
while they await the results of tests.
The train was stopped in the tiny hamlet of Foleyet in northern Ontario
and surrounded by emergency services, who evacuated the local station.
A second passenger was airlifted to hospital, where she was diagnosed
with a respiratory illness and is said to be in a stable condition.
Three day journey
Dr David Williams, Ontario's chief medical officer, said that the woman
who died did not have an infectious disease and that the illnesses were
not related.
For a little town that usually has only two police officers, it's been
very busy here
Carol Woodhouse, Foleyet resident
"While the cause of death continues to be under investigation, it has
been determined that the deceased did most likely not have an infectious
disease," Dr Williams told a news conference.
Five other passengers who complained of mild flu-like symptoms had been
quarantined in a separate carriage and treated by a doctor, who was "not
concerned for their immediate health," Ontario Provincial Police Staff
Sergeant Rob Knox said.
The train was on its final leg of a three day trip and is expected to
continue its journey and arrive in Toronto on Saturday.
Carol Woodhouse, who works in Foleyet, told CBC News that a medical
helicopter and five ambulances had been called to the railway station.
"For a little town that usually has only two police officers, it's been
very busy here," she said.
Several hospitals in Ontario and Quebec have recently experienced
outbreaks of C-Difficile, a bacterium that causes intestinal problems.
And in 2002 44 people in Toronto died during an outbreak of Sars.