posted on August 12, 2008

The Star: Suddenly, safe has never been so scary

By: Rick Westhead, in Foleyet, Ont.
Rob Ferguson, Robert Benzie, in Toronto
Published: May 10, 2008
Source: The Star

FOLEYET, Ont.–Isolating a Via Rail passenger train in this remote Northern Ontario community after one passenger died and others began complaining of flu-like symptoms was not an overreaction, officials say, but the new normal in a post-SARS world.

The emergency measures swung into effect after Via Rail's Train No. 2 from Vancouver was stopped here at about 9 a.m. yesterday, stranding 264 passengers and 30 crew on the third day of its journey from the west.

The move came after health officials received reports of the death and illnesses – evoking memories of the 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto that claimed 44 lives and heightened global sensitivity to the threat of infectious disease.

Even after it became apparent that the death and illnesses were unrelated, Ontario's top health official said the response – which saw helicopters, police cars and ambulances descend on the town of about 380 – worked just the way it should. "I'm satisfied the appropriate steps were taken," Dr. David Williams, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, told a Queen's Park news conference yesterday.

Even outsiders were impressed.

"Had we had that high level of suspicion in Toronto, for example, at the beginning of SARS, they may not have had the number of cases they subsequently had," said Dr. Perry Kendall, British Columbia's chief medical officer of health.

"So I think it's important that this is the new normal. And I think we will have events that turn out not to be events as we try to screen" for serious outbreaks, he said.

Just over 10 hours after it was stopped, at 6:47 p.m., the train was cleared to continue its journey to Toronto, and was expected to arrive at Union Station at about 8 a.m.

Viewed from the air early yesterday, the stranded train of three locomotives and 21 passenger cars was the focus of a beehive of attention – a black helicopter sat nearby as an orange Ontario air ambulance lifted off with an ill passenger. Numerous police, ambulance and other official vehicles surrounded the quarantined train.

The ill passenger, who was airlifted to the Timmins and District Hospital, was assessed and found not to have an infectious disease, Williams said.

The dead woman, he added, had pre-existing health conditions, and the five ill passengers who were kept in isolation were sick when they boarded the train in Jasper, Alta. Neither health officials nor police would confirm reports the ill passengers were Australian tourists.

During much of the morning, residents of Foleyet, west of Timmins, expressed awe and unease as emergency officials, the ambulances and helicopters, and a hazardous-materials team clad in biohazard suits swarmed their community and prepared for the worst.

Deborah DesRochers, chair of the town, said the sight of so many emergency and police personnel was a wake-up call to residents that infectious disease can strike anywhere. "When we watch the news here, everything is happening down south, so when something like this does happen on your doorstep, it makes you stop and think," she said.

"It does happen everywhere, and people have to be ready and aware of how to deal with that situation if it gets there. So we got a little lesson today and I think quite a few people got lessons today."

Not far from the quarantined zone is the Northern Lights Restaurant, which was jammed with residents, including 53-year-old Leo DesRochers, who stopped by to get a closer look at the scene.

"It's creating quite a bit of excitement, it's really rolling in here," he said of the mood in the bustling restaurant at lunch hour.

"There's lots of people standing around, lots of police, and they're handling it with white gloves. They're being pretty careful about it."

Williams told the Queen's Park news conference that officials quickly became convinced they were not dealing with a SARS-like outbreak, but had to take some conclusions on faith until medical tests could be completed.

The dead woman "did most likely not have an infectious disease," he said, acknowledging no tests had been performed on her body as of late yesterday afternoon.

Other passengers, he stressed, were "not at risk from contact with the deceased passenger." He said the train would continue to Toronto after other passengers had been screened as a precaution, and the train did not need to be disinfected.

Another female passenger taken to hospital in Timmins was suffering from a shortness of breath but had "no fever, no cough." Tests showed a normal white blood cell count and ruled out influenza and "a number of infectious diseases," Williams said.

Five other passengers who felt ill on the train had "mild" respiratory viruses when they boarded in Jasper several days ago, with one on antibiotics for "a sinus-type infection," Williams said.

None of the cases appear connected. "It happened to be a confluence of three at the same time," the chief medical officer said.

Williams expressed satisfaction with the way officials handled the situation.

"I'm satisfied the appropriate steps were taken," he said. "People did it in a calm, collected way and went about their duties and responsibilities accordingly."

By the time a retired doctor, who was travelling on the train, was asked to see the woman, she was unconscious in a washroom. He determined that she had died "a few minutes before," Williams said.

She had been feeling unwell and the Via crew had given her oxygen earlier. But she was feeling fine the previous evening. "She seemed to be in good spirits and was socializing with people on the train."

Via Rail has been asked to provide a manifest of passengers who may have gotten off earlier and prepare a fact sheet to soothe any concerns.

NDP MPP France Gélinas (Nickel Belt), who represents the area where the train was quarantined, expressed concern at how the incident was handled.

"I am relieved that there is no evidence of an outbreak of infectious disease. Foleyet is in my riding and obviously the situation alarmed local residents," Gélinas said in a statement.

"(But) I do have concerns about what protocol was used to call for the isolation of the train. It appears even the province's chief medical officer of health doesn't know who called for the isolation," she said.

"Given previous outbreaks of infectious disease in Ontario, this is disconcerting. The public deserves reassurance that the protocols we have in place are effective."

With files from The Canadian Press