Ebola nurse’s condition worsens; more quarantined

THE health of a Spanish nurse with Ebola has deteriorated and four other people who have been in contact with her are isolation.

Teresa Romero: May have been infected by rubber gloves. Picture: Reuters

The developments came as the Spanish government rejected claims that its methods for dealing with the disease were not working, instead, blaming human error.

Teresa Romero, 44, was the first person to have contracted Ebola outside of Africa, after becoming infected by one of two Spanish priests repatriated from the continent with the disease.

It is suspected she may have become infected after touching her face with a rubber glove worn while caring for the men.

In total, seven people are in isolation in Madrid, though only Romero has tested positive for Ebola.

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The others include the nurse’s husband and two doctors who cared for her. Three other patients were released from the isolation unit late on Wednesday after tests put them in the clear.

In France, where no cases have been detected so far, a false alarm saw authorities seal off a building near Paris yesterday over concerns about Ebola after four people fell ill with headaches and fever. Police and interior ministry sources said the social services building at Cergy Pontoise, northwest of Paris, had been sealed off with 60 people inside after the four suspected carriers – who arrived in France from Guinea earlier this month – fell ill.

Meanwhile, in Prague, a 56-year-old Czech man is undergoing tests after showing symptoms of the virus,

The man, who had recently travelled in Liberia, is being kept in isolation in the Czech capital. Test results are expected today.

Around 200 airline cabin cleaners walked out at New York’s LaGuardia Airport claiming a lack of sufficient protection from exposure to the disease for workers cleaning up vomit and bathrooms.