Nurse at Spain hospital contracts Ebola
A Spanish nurse has tested positive for Ebola after she treated a patient who eventually died of the disease. The nurse’s case is believed to…
Nurse at Spain hospital contracts Ebola. The woman works at Madrid’s La Paz-Carlos III hospital where two missionaries who were repatriated from Africa with Ebola died from the disease.(Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
A Spanish nurse has tested positive for Ebola after she treated a patient who eventually died of the disease. The nurse’s case is believed to be the first Ebola infection outside of West Africa.
Ana Mato, Spain’s health minister, said the nurse was part of a medical team that treated Manuel Garcia Viejo, a 69-year-old Spanish priest who died last month in Spain after contracting the virus while working in Sierra Leone.
SEE ALSO: Spanish priest infected with Ebola dies
The nurse began to feel sick on September 30. She arrived at a hospital in Alcorcón with high fever on Monday, said authorities, and the first round of tests tested positive for the deadly virus.
The woman’s only symptom was a fever, Antonio Alemany, Madrid director of primary health care, said in a news conference.
An investigation is under way to find everyone she may have had contact with while contagious. So far, there are no other known cases. She is said to be in a stable condition.
Manuel Garcia Viejo died in the hospital Carlos III de Madrid after catching Ebola in Sierra Leone. Another Spanish priest, Miguel Pajares, died in August after contracting the virus in Liberia.
Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of someone who has the virus and the only way to stop an outbreak is to isolate those who are infected. The Ebola epidemic that has been raging in west Africa has so far claimed almost 3,500 lives, with Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone worst hit.
SEE ALSO: Ebola in the US: Why you shouldnt worry
