A nurse in Spain has tested positive for the Ebola virus after treating a patient with the virus.
The nurse was part of the medical team which cared for a Spanish missionary who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and was then repatriated to Spain two weeks ago for medical attention.
The 69-year-old missionary, Manuel García Viejo, died just four days after being brought to Madrid’s Carlos III hospital.
A second test on the nurse, who reported to hospital with a high fever on Monday, has been carried out and Spain's health minister has confirmed that the nurse has contracted the virus. Health officials have also said that she is in stable condition.
She is believed to be the first patient outside west Africa to have contracted it..
In August this year, another missionary, 75-year old Miguel Pajares, died in Madrid after his repatriation from Liberia five days before.
He was the first patient to be evacuated to Europe for treatment. That provoked concern in Spain.
The trade union representing physicians, Amyts, said it was risky. It said that Spain has just one hospital with a high level of biosafety. By contrast, it said, the US has 10 hospitals with the very highest possible level.
The virus is transmitted from one person to another through bodily fluids and the sicker the patient becomes, the higher the levels of virus in those fluids, which include blood, urine and vomit. The patient must be quarantined in an ambience of the strictest hygiene and sanitation measures.
Scientists and doctors have said repeatedly that Ebola is not transmitted through water droplets in the air from coughs and sneezes. It does not have a respiratory route for infecting people.
There have been nearly 7,500 confirmed infections worldwide, with officials saying the figure is likely to be much higher in reality. Some 3,400 people have died in the outbreak - mostly in West Africa countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The strict infection control procedures have worked in west Africa in many cases, so they should certainly work in Europe. Pressure will be on the Spanish health authorities to ascertain quickly how this nurse was infected to avoid future instances and to stop rumours which could trigger public panic.
