Iqaluit (Apr 28/03) - Nunavut can respond quickly and effectively to a SARS case.

That was the message being sent by chief medical officer of health Geraldine Osborne following a SARS scare in Iqaluit last week.

A visiting physician from Toronto was quarantined after he came down with flu-like symptoms.

The fear was he may have contracted Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome from a Toronto health facility that had treated suspected and probable cases of the virus.

Osborne said the response to the scare was good.

"It showed us how smoothly our plans are running and certainly where we can improve," she said.

Areas in need of improvement are minor, said Osborne relating to communication to the public and roles certain individuals should take.

As far as dealing with necessary protocols to prevent the spread of the disease, Osborne said the guidelines were followed and put into place quickly.

"He was treated as if there was possible exposure," she said.

That means masks and gloves were worn when dealing with him and isolation measures were taken to limit the number of people he came into contact with.

The doctor has since been released from isolation which, Osborne said, he cooperated with completely.

"We're confident he does not have SARS," said Osborne.

It was consistent with the message that was delivered when the physician was first quarantined and symptoms did not appear to be consistent with SARS.

Normally the case would not have been reported to the public, but rumours were spreading around the community and, Osborne said, they needed to be quelled.

The Department of Health is currently investigating where those rumours originated. Osborne would not speculate if they began with a local health care worker.

She also would not comment on what the ramifications would be if a health official was the source of the rumours.

The scare caused enough of a stir in the community that some outpatient appointments were cancelled as people attempted to avoid the hospital.

Osborne said that was completely unnecessary.

"It's a disease that is getting a lot of hype. The risk to Nunavumiut from other infections is greater than SARS," she added.