Ebola virus hit spain
The deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has reportedly
found its way to Europe through Spain after a nurse who
treated a victim of the disease in Madrid tested Ebola-
positive.
This was made known on Monday by the Spanish health
minister, Ana Mato, who also revealed that the nurse is
the first person in the current outbreak known to have
contracted Ebola outside Africa continent, CNN reports.
According Mato, the nurse was among the team that
treated Spanish priest Manuel Garcia Viejo, who died on
September 25, 2014, in the hospital Carlos III de Madrid
after catching Ebola in Sierra Leone.
The health minister said the woman developed symptoms
on September 30, adding that she was not hospitalized
until this week because her only symptom was a fever.
“We are working in coordination to give the best care to the
patient and to guarantee the safety of all citizens,” Mato
said.
The health official assured that the nurse was in a stable
condition as she had been admitted to hospital in
Alcorcon, near Madrid. He said doctors had isolated the
emergency treatment room because of the patient. He
further revealed that the infection was confirmed by two
tests.
The health minister also disclosed that an investigation
was under way to find everyone the nurse may have had
contact with while contagious. Mato said there have been
no other known cases so far.
It would be recalled that 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. There have
been nearly 7,500 confirmed infections worldwide, with
officials saying the figure is likely to be much higher in
reality.
Meanwhile, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have been
hardest hit by the outbreak. According to World Health
Organisation, WHO, 3439 people have died of the virus
while there have been 7492 confirmed cases so far.
In a reaction to the current outbreak in the United States,
the White House on Monday revealed that it is not
considering a ban on travellers from affected countries
although the state’s health officials had earlier said
people arriving in the US from Ebola-affected countries in
West Africa could be subject to extra screening at
airports.
found its way to Europe through Spain after a nurse who
treated a victim of the disease in Madrid tested Ebola-
positive.
This was made known on Monday by the Spanish health
minister, Ana Mato, who also revealed that the nurse is
the first person in the current outbreak known to have
contracted Ebola outside Africa continent, CNN reports.
According Mato, the nurse was among the team that
treated Spanish priest Manuel Garcia Viejo, who died on
September 25, 2014, in the hospital Carlos III de Madrid
after catching Ebola in Sierra Leone.
The health minister said the woman developed symptoms
on September 30, adding that she was not hospitalized
until this week because her only symptom was a fever.
“We are working in coordination to give the best care to the
patient and to guarantee the safety of all citizens,” Mato
said.
The health official assured that the nurse was in a stable
condition as she had been admitted to hospital in
Alcorcon, near Madrid. He said doctors had isolated the
emergency treatment room because of the patient. He
further revealed that the infection was confirmed by two
tests.
The health minister also disclosed that an investigation
was under way to find everyone the nurse may have had
contact with while contagious. Mato said there have been
no other known cases so far.
It would be recalled that 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. There have
been nearly 7,500 confirmed infections worldwide, with
officials saying the figure is likely to be much higher in
reality.
Meanwhile, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have been
hardest hit by the outbreak. According to World Health
Organisation, WHO, 3439 people have died of the virus
while there have been 7492 confirmed cases so far.
In a reaction to the current outbreak in the United States,
the White House on Monday revealed that it is not
considering a ban on travellers from affected countries
although the state’s health officials had earlier said
people arriving in the US from Ebola-affected countries in
West Africa could be subject to extra screening at
airports.
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