MADRID, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - A nurse at a hospital in Madrid has been diagnosed with symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus infection, EFE news agency reported on Monday, citing Spanish health officials.
According to the agency, the unnamed nurse tested positive after taking part in the treatment of Spanish priest Manuel García Viejo, 69, who became infected with the Ebola virus while serving at a Sierra Leone hospital and died in a Madrid hospital on September 25.
So far, Spain has registered two Ebola-related deaths since the recent outbreak of the disease in West Africa.
In August, 75-year-old missionary Miguel Pajares died five days after having been flown to Spain from Liberia with symptoms of Ebola. His treatment with experimental drug ZMapp was ineffective.
The worst Ebola outbreak in history started in February in Guinea and quickly spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Nigeria.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the death toll from the Ebola epidemic has surpassed 3,400.
The virus is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected. There is no officially approved cure for Ebola, but several countries, including Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, are currently working on Ebola vaccines.
