8 Oct, 2014 @ 18:13
1 min read

Spanish Ebola nurse desperately tried to be admitted to hospital for more than a week

THE Spanish nurse admitted to a Madrid hospital with the Ebola virus told health authorities at least three times that she had a fever before being quarantined.

Teresa Romero Ramos, who was part of the nursing team treating two repatriated patients who later died of the illness, is the first person in the current outbreak to have contracted the virus outside of west Africa.

She first contacted authorities on September 30, complaining of a slight fever and fatigue.

Ramos reportedly called a specialised service dedicated to occupational risk at the Carlos III hospital in Madrid, where she worked.

But as her fever was below 38.6 degrees, she was told to merely visit her local clinic where she was prescribed paracetamol.

Days later she called the hospital again to complain about her fever, but again no action was taken.

On October 6, she called again to say she felt terrible. She was instructed to call the emergency services.

Rather than transport her to the Carlos III hospital, however, she was taken to the Alcorcon hospital by paramedics who were not wearing protective gear.

Despite warning staff at the hospital that she thought she had contracted Ebola, she was left in a ward bed separated from other patients only by a curtain while waiting for her test results.

It has also been alleged that the tests were only carried out in the first place at Ramos’ insistence.

Fernando Simon, coordinator of the centre of alerts and emergencies at Spain’s health ministry, has admitted that it might have been better to hospitalise Ramos when she first made contact.

Ramos and her husband, Javier Limon Romero, remain in quarantine.

Imogen Calderwood

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