Hospital staff say ‘anti-Ebola’ suits did not meet specifications

MADRID --  Staff at the Carlos III hospital, where the only specifically Ebola unit in the country exists and where the two Spanish missionaries died, this week accused the health authorities of permitting the use of the special suits used at the unit did not meet the security specifications they need. According to staff representatives, regulations, referring to cases such as these should be at Level 4, that is, completely impermeable and autonomous breathing facilities. They say that the suits they were issued were at Level 2. In response, the hospital’s spokesperson, Yolanda Fuentes, denies that security measures were not met. “The suits meet procedural requirements perfectly, as well as the protective measures required for this illness,” she said. As can be seen in the image above, supplied by hospital staff, the suit has no independent breathing apparatus, the gloves are latex, tied on with adhesive tape

Europe’s first Ebola case transferred to specialised hospital

MADRID – The nurse who attended missionary Manuel García Viejo, who died of the Ebola virus on September 25, was last night moved to the special isolation ward at the Carlos III hospital ‘as a precaution’. It was confirmed yesterday afternoon that she had contracted the virus and has been in isolation ever since. As a nursing auxiliary, the woman, whose name hasn’t been divulged to the media, worked at the Laz – Carlos III hospital, where she now is being submitted to further tests. Spanish news reports say that she had had direct contact with García Viejo twice, which is when she reportedly contracted the viral disease. Her husband and recent contacts are being monitored, including 30 other medical staff at the hospital.