MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) – The dog of the Spanish nurse infected with Ebola was almost euthanized on Tuesday, according to government officials in Madrid; however, pet lovers around the world mobilized and have started a campaign on social media to save the dog, the New Zealand Herald reports.
Pet lovers flooded social media with pictures of their animals as part of the international campaign. Twitter is filled with pictures of dogs, cats and even birds, which have been posted with the “#SalvemosAExcalibur” tag, which translate from Spanish to “Let’s save Excalibur”.
Spain's canines rally to save Ebola patient's dog http://t.co/0EtxlFvQkf #SalvemosAExcalibur pic.twitter.com/ZfqpwdX9B8
— Mashable (@mashable) October 7, 2014
#Spain: Animal rights associations launch #salvemosaexcalibur to spare #Ebola infected patient's dog: Excalibur pic.twitter.com/7MRkH3josT
— José Miguel Sardo (@jmsardo) October 8, 2014
Miss Fluffy says, #SalvemosaExcalibur Please quarantine with compassion. Don't kill the dog. pic.twitter.com/6mShk4r3Nm
— Princess Tatania (@PrincessTatania) October 8, 2014
The campaign started after Madrid’s regional authorities decided to euthanize the beloved pet of Teresa Romero Ramos, the nurse infected with the deadly Ebola virus. Apparently, animals can be infected with Ebola, and then, in turn, pass the virus to humans, the New York Post said.
“There is one article in the medical literature that discusses the presence of antibodies to Ebola in dogs. Whether that was an accurate test and whether that was relevant we do not know”, said Tom Frieden, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as quoted by NBC News.
The Ebola outbreak has already killed more than 3,400 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to World Health Organization (WHO).
