MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti), Ekaterina Blinova - A Nigerian suspected of having Ebola, admitted to a hospital in Madrid on Thursday after arriving on an Air France aircraft, has tested negative for the deadly virus.
"The Nigerian passenger who was taken to a Madrid hospital from an Air France plane by police-escorted ambulance over fears he was suffering from Ebola has tested negative for the disease, the Spanish government said on Friday," Reuters reports.
Reuters notes another potential Ebola victim, also taken to hospital on Thursday, October 16, suffering from fever, has also tested negative for the virus. The person, a nurse suspected to be at risk for Ebola, had traveled in an ambulance, which had been used to carry Maria Teresa Romero Ramos, Spain's first Ebola victim, to Carlos III Hospital this month. Maria Romero was the first patient to contract the deadly virus in Europe. The nurse gave medical care to two priests infected with Ebola before they died. She is still fighting for her life. The case triggered a health emergency in the country as well as "scrutiny of Spain's handling of the treatment of Ebola patients," the New York Times points out.
"The cases are two of four people hospitalized with suspected Ebola symptoms on Thursday including the passenger on the Air France plane who developed tremors and prompted Spanish authorities to evacuate the plane," writes Reuters.
The United States is planning to deploy up to 4,000 of its troops in West Africa to counter the rapid spread of the disease and has requested permission from the Spainish government to use US military bases in Spain, the media outlet stresses, citing a Spanish Defense Ministry source.
It is expected that Madrid's decision will be announced on Friday during the meeting of Spanish Defense Minister Pedro Morenes and Pentagon Chief Chuck Hagel in Washington. The source admitted that the Spanish government was most likely to approve the use of military bases at Rota and at Moron de la Frontera, Reuters notes.
