In what is being described as the first case of Ebola contamination in Europe, a Spanish nurse has tested positive.
The woman, a nursing auxiliary, worked at the hospital in Madrid where two Ebola patients – both missionaries repatriated from Africa – died of the virus in August and September.
She was in the medical team that treated the victims.
Spain’s Health Minister Ana Mato said the nurse had gone on holiday after the missionary’s death last month and that she is now in a stable condition.
“We are working to discover the source of contagion,” Mato told a news conference.
“We are checking to see if all the procedures were respected. Citizens must be confident that we have made all the necessary resources available to doctors, nursing staff and all medical personnel to deal with the situation.”
It comes as an American TV cameraman who contracted Ebola in Liberia arrived back in the United States for treatment.
Such cases are raising fears about the worldwide spread of Ebola which has already claimed nearly 3,500 lives in West Africa in the latest outbreak which started in March.