An assistant nurse at Madrid's La Paz-Carlos III hospital where two Ebola patients died has tested positive for the Ebola virus, according to health officials. This marks the first known instance where someone has contracted Ebola outside of West Africa.
After the nurse was admitted to the hospital on Monday morning with a high fever, doctors isolated her in an emergency treatment room and tested her for the virus. "Two tests were done and the two were positive," said a spokesperson for the region's health department. According to Health Minister Ana Mato, the nurse was part of the team that treated an infected priest.
Agence France-Presse reports:
Spanish priest Miguel Pajares, 75, was infected with Ebola in Liberia and died at the hospital on August 12.
Another Spanish missionary, Manuel Garcia Viejo, 69, was repatriated from Sierra Leone and died at the hospital on September 25.
Both were members of the Hospital Order of San Juan de Dios, a Roman Catholic group that runs a charity working with Ebola victims in Africa.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 3,500 have died from the virus.
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