Ebola virus disease in Spain
{{Infobox pandemic
| name = Ebola virus disease in Spain
| map1 = File: Spain-Location-Map(2013)-UNOCHA-no-logo.png
| legend1 = Map of Spain
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| disease = Ebolavirus
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| first_case = 6 October 2014
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| confirmed_cases = 1
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{{Ebola virus disease epidemic}}
In 2014, Ebola virus disease in Spain occurred due to two patients with cases of the disease contracted during the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa; they were medically evacuated. A failure in infection control in the treatment of the second patient led to an isolated infection of Ebola virus disease in a health worker in Spain itself. The health worker survived her Ebola infection, and has since been declared infection-free.
Initial medevac cases
{{Main|West African Ebola virus epidemic}}
On 5 August 2014, the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God confirmed that Brother Miguel Pajares, who had been volunteering in Liberia, had become infected. He was evacuated to Spain on 6 August 2014, and subsequently died on 12 August.{{Cite web |date=12 August 2014 |title=Muere el religioso español Miguel Pajares a causa del ébola |url=http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20140812/muere-religioso-espanol-miguel-pajares-causa-del-ebola/991420.shtml |access-date=12 August 2014 |publisher=RTVE}} On 21 September it was announced that Brother Manuel García Viejo, another Spanish citizen who was medical director at the St John of God Hospital Sierra Leone in Lunsar, had been evacuated to Spain from Sierra Leone after being infected with the virus. His death was announced on 25 September.{{Cite news |date=25 September 2014 |title=Ebola Outbreak: Spanish Missionary Manuel Garcia Viejo Dies of Deadly Virus in Madrid |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ebola-outbreak-spanish-missionary-manuel-garcia-viejo-dies-deadly-virus-madrid-1467233 |access-date=25 September 2014 |work=International Business Times}} Both of these cases were treated at the Hospital Carlos III in Madrid.{{Cite web |date=2014-10-06 |title=Una auxiliar de enfermería que atendió al misionero fallecido García Viejo, contagiada de ébola |url=http://www.elmundo.es/madrid/2014/10/06/5432bb62e2704e347a8b4577.html |access-date=6 October 2014 |publisher=El Mundo |language=es}}
= Medical personnel infection =
In October 2014, María Teresa Romero Ramos, an auxiliary nurse who had cared for Manuel García Viejo{{Cite web |date=7 October 2014 |title=Spanish nurse tests positive for Ebola |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1006/650268-ebola/ |publisher=RTE}} at the Hospital Carlos III had become unwell and on 6 October tested positive for Ebola at her local hospital in Alcorcón, the Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón.{{Cite web |last=Greg Botelho |last2=Laura Smith-Spark |last3=Laura Perez Maestro |date=8 October 2014 |title=Hospital worker: Spaniard exposed in ER for 8 hours after positive Ebola test |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/08/world/europe/ebola-spain/ |publisher=CNN}}{{Cite news |title=Nurse 'infected with Ebola' in Spain |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29514920 |access-date=6 October 2014 |agency=BBC}} A second test confirmed the diagnosis,{{Cite web |date=6 October 2014 |title=La enfermera ingresada en Alcorcón da positivo por ébola -- La segunda prueba ha dado positivo y confirma el diagnóstico |url=http://www.cadenaser.com/sociedad/articulo/enfermera-ingresada-alcorcon-da-positivo-ebola/csrcsrpor/20141006csrcsrsoc_5/Tes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827190258/https://cadenaser.com/emisora/2014/10/06/radio_madrid/1412561608_850215.html |archive-date=27 August 2021 |access-date=9 October 2014 |publisher=Cadena Ser}} making this the first confirmed case of Ebola transmission outside Africa. Following testing, she was transferred to the Hospital Carlos III in Madrid for treatment.{{Cite web |date=2014-10-07 |title=La segunda enfermera ingresada da negativo en la prueba del virus |url=http://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2014-10-07/la-segunda-enfermera-ingresada-da-negativo-en-la-prueba-del-virus_229489/ |publisher=El Confidencial |language=es}}
As of October 7, 50 contacts were being monitored, with 7 kept in isolation at the Hospital Carlos III, and an investigation was under way.{{Cite web |last=Raphael Minder |date=2014-10-07 |title=Demands for an Explanation Grow After a Nurse in Spain Contracts Ebola |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/world/europe/after-its-first-ebola-case-spain-seeks-to-prevent-spread-of-virus.html |website=New York Times}}{{Cite web |date=2014-10-09 |title=More health workers hospitalised in Spain Ebola scare |url=http://www.news24.com/World/News/More-health-workers-hospitalised-in-Spain-Ebola-scare-20141009 |website=News24}}
On 7 October, Madrid's regional government got a court order to euthanize Romero's pet dog, Excalibur, concerned that it posed a risk as a reservoir host.{{Cite news |last=Minder |first=Raphael |last2=Belluck |first2=Pam |date=2014-10-08 |title=Spain, Amid Protests, Destroys Dog of Ebola-Infected Nurse |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/science/ebola-dog-excalibur-nurse-spain.html |work=The New York Times}} By the afternoon there were over 30 animal rights activists who had barricaded the apartment to prevent officials from removing the dog. A number of online petitions were started rallying to save the dog, garnering hundreds of thousands of indications of support. Ramos' quarantined husband, Javier, called on a veterinarian radio show host, and recorded a video appeal, for help to save his dog. On 8 October, Spanish authorities removed, sedated and euthanized the dog and arranged for the safe disposal of its remains.{{Cite web |date=2014-10-08 |title=Spanish Ebola nurse's pet dog put down |url=http://www.news24.com/World/News/Spanish-Ebola-nurses-pet-dog-put-down-20141008 |access-date=11 October 2014 |website=News24}}
On 9 October the Spanish health ministry quarantined three more people.{{Cite web |last=Raphael Minder |date=9 October 2014 |title=Spain Quarantines 3 More Over Ebola |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/world/europe/ebola-spain-nurse-hospital.html |website=New York Times}}
The health authorities announced that María Teresa Romero Ramos' condition had worsened significantly.{{Cite web |last=Raphael Minder |date=9 October 2014 |title=Condition of Spanish Nurse With Ebola Worsens, Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/world/europe/ebola-spain-nurse-hospital.html |website=New York Times}} On October 12, she began to show some improvement.
According to one report, the improvement may be attributed to Romero's having received the experimental drug ZMab which is similar to ZMapp, which has been used to treat several Ebola patients. However, according to information released by Spain's Centre for Health and Emergency Alerts, the nurse did not receive ZMab due to concerns over possible side-effects.{{Cite news |date=October 11, 2014 |title=Ebola-infected Spanish nurse improving after dose of experimental drug ZMapp: health source |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/ebola-infected-spanish-nurse-improving-health-source-article-1.1970896 |access-date=October 16, 2014 |work=NEW YORK DAILY NEWS}}{{Cite news |date=16 October 2014 |title=Public Health Agency gives Spain, Norway ZMapp-like drug to treat Ebola cases |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/public-health-agency-gives-spain-norway-zmapp-like-drug-to-treat-ebola-cases-1.2053402 |access-date=16 October 2014 |publisher=The Local Europe}} Romero, however, was given the experimental antiviral drug Favipiravir, and it was reported that the dosages used were much higher than those used in the treatment of other patients.{{Cite web |date=2014-10-24 |title=Teresa Romero recibió dosis del antiviral Favipiravir nunca utilizadas en otros pacientes |url=http://www.abc.es/sociedad/20141024/abci-ebola-dosis-antiviral-teresa-201410241656.html}}
Medical staff in Madrid protested about the lack of effective protective equipment and safety precautions. It was reported on October 17 that all the other people suspected of being infected in Spain had tested negative for the Ebola virus.{{Cite web |last=Ashifa Kassam |date=17 October 2014 |title=All four suspected Ebola cases in Spain test negative for the disease |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/17/two-suspected-ebola-cases-spain-test-negative-disease |website=The Guardian}}
On October 20 it was announced that Teresa Romero had tested negative for the Ebola virus,{{Cite web |date=20 October 2014 |title=Ebola crisis: Tests show Spanish nurse Teresa Romero no longer has the virus |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-20/spanish-nurse-infected-with-ebola-no-longer-has-virus/5825720 |website=ABC News}} suggesting she may have cleared the virus from her system. On November 1, it was announced that she was Ebola-free, and had been moved out of the isolation ward into a normal hospital bed to finish the process of recuperation from her illness.{{Cite web |last=Harold Heckle |date=1 November 2014 |title=Spanish Woman Cured of Ebola Moves to Normal Room |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/spanish-woman-cured-ebola-moves-normal-room-26624899 |website=ABC News}} The WHO declared Spain Ebola-free on 2 December, 42 days after Teresa Romero was shown to be free of Ebola on 21 October.{{Cite news |date=2 December 2014 |title=WHO Says Spain Ebola-Free Following Nurse Recovery |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/spain-ebola-free-nurse-recovery-27300284 |access-date=2 December 2014 |work=ABC News}}
2018 prototype vaccine
In July 2018, a Spanish team from the October 12 Hospital in Madrid announced the discovery of an antibody and the development of a prototype vaccine against five strains of Ebola, including the most common and deadliest.{{Cite web |date=2018-07-12 |title=Spanish researchers develop five-strain vaccine against lethal Ebola virus |url=https://www.thelocal.es/20180712/spanish-researchers-develop-five-strain-vaccine-ebola}}{{Cite web |title=Vaccine for killer Ebola virus being developed by Spanish researchers |url=https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/on-euro-weekly-news/spain-news-in-english/1473157-vaccine-for-killer-ebola-virus-being-developed-by-spanish-researchers |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722011644/https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/on-euro-weekly-news/spain-news-in-english/1473157-vaccine-for-killer-ebola-virus-being-developed-by-spanish-researchers |archive-date=2018-07-22 |access-date=2018-07-21}}{{Cite web |title=El 12 de Octubre descubre 'Unicornio', el anticuerpo contra el Ébola |url=https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/madrid/el-12-de-octubre-descubre-unicornio-el-anticuerpo-contra-el-ebola--3299}}
References
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Further reading
- {{Cite journal |last=Rodríguez-Vega |first=Beatriz |last2=Amador |first2=Blanca |last3=Ortiz-Villalobos |first3=Aranzazu |last4=Barbero |first4=Javier |last5=Palao |first5=Angela |last6=Avedillo |first6=Caridad |last7=Alcami |first7=Margarita |last8=García-Benito |first8=Pa |last9=Fernandez-Sanchez |first9=Aranzazu |last10=Perez-Sales |first10=Pau |last11=Bayón |first11=Carmen |last12=Cebolla |first12=Susana |last13=Ortiz |first13=María Fe Bravo |date=15 June 2015 |title=The Psychosocial Response to the Ebola Health Emergency: Experience in Madrid, Spain |journal=Clinical Infectious Diseases |language=en |volume=60 |issue=12 |pages=1866–1867 |doi=10.1093/cid/civ173 |issn=1058-4838 |pmid=25737372}}
{{Commons}}
{{Ebola}}
{{Europe topic |Ebola virus disease in}}