Commentary
Upper Respiratory Illness Un-Linked to Canadian Tourist Fatality?
Recombinomics Commentary 19:56
May 9, 2008
Police now say they don't believe the death of a 60-year-old woman and the illnesses of several passengers on a halted Via Rail passenger train are connected.
Ambulances, police and helicopters scrambled to the tiny northern Ontario hamlet of Foleyet on Friday morning after reports that as many as 10 passengers were suffering from flu-like symptoms.
Provincial police Staff Sgt. Rob Knox says one person was airlifted to hospital but the other passengers and crew members remain in quarantine, including five ill people who have been isolated on the train.
The above comments suggest the cause of death in the 60F on the Ontario train is not related to the other passengers with upper respiratory illness, including the patient who was airlifted and is in stable condition.
Media reports indicate rapid influenza A tests will be conducted on the patients with symptoms, but reasons for a lack of linkage "at present" between the fatal case and the other cases remain unclear.
Earlier media reports indicated those with symptoms were members of a tour group that boarded the train in Japser, Alberta. More information, including the origin of the tour group has not been released.
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