Ebola virus spreads to Spain

A nurse in Spain has become the first person to be infected with Ebola outside of West Africa after treating two Ebola victims in Madrid.

Spain’s health ministry is confirming that the nurse, whose identity is not being released, has tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus, and is the first person to catch it outside of West Africa. To be clear, she hadn’t travelled to West Africa, at least not recently. She became infected with Ebola in Spain after coming into contact with patients who had it.

Officials in a news conference say the nurse was part of a team treating a Spanish missionary who had been repatriated to Madrid from Sierra Leone after getting Ebola. That patient ended up dying four days after being admitted to Madrid’s Carlos The Third Hospital.

This confirmed case in Spain comes as President Obama held a meeting with health care officials earlier today. He says Ebola is a top national security priority and that some foreign countries need to be doing more to help contain and confront the Ebola crisis. While he made it clear that the chances for an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. are low, his administration is working on additional screening protocols for international airline passengers. The fear of an outbreak has some U.S. officials now calling for a flight ban for people coming from Ebola-infected countries. But the White House says such an extreme move isn’t necessary right now.

Josh Earnest, White House Spokesman: “A travel ban is not something we are currently considering. The reason for that is simply. I think it is two-fold. The first is, there is a multilayered screening process in our transportation system. There are extensive screening measures on the ground in West Africa where this outbreak has occurred to ensure that individuals that have symptoms of Ebola, in other words are contagious people can’t board international aircraft. There’s guidelines and guidance and training that has been given to flight crews to ensure that they are aware of that the symptoms of Ebola are and can spot individuals who could may be suffering from symptoms of Ebola.”

Two patients fighting the deadly Ebola virus are being treated in the U.S. The condition of the patient in Dallas, Thomas Eric Duncan, is critical, though officials there did deliver some good news. Mayor Mike Rawlings says those who were exposed to Duncan are doing well. The effort to treat journalist Ashoka Mukpo is underway in Omaha. A med-evac jet transported the fifth American diagnosed with the virus from Liberia to the Medical Center of Nebraska overnight. Health officials are trying to calm concerns, by reiterating the message on how Ebola is spread.

Dr. David L. Lakey, Commissioner of Health for Texas: “You’re not going to get the virus from being next to someone who’s not having any symptoms, not having any fever. You’re not going to get the virus.”

And while the U.S. says it is confident in combating the Ebola crisis, the president of Sierra Leone is pleading for more international help. He says a thousand more treatment centres are needed to fight the virus. Overall, 3,439 people have died from Ebola in West Africa.