Ebola: Spanish nurse's costly mistake

Maria Teresa Romero Ramos dog Excalibur.

The nurse in Madrid who became the first person infected with Ebola outside West Africa repeatedly reported her symptoms to health authorities but was fobbed off with paracetamol before being finally diagnosed with the deadly virus and put in isolation.

Maria Teresa Romero Ramos admits she probably caught the virus when she touched her face with a contaminated glove as she removed her protective suit after visiting the room of the infected missionary priest who was repatriated to Madrid from Sierra Leone.

Spanish health officials struggled to contain the virus and placed two more nurses in quarantine and dozens of others under observation for symptoms of Ebola.

A worldwide campaign to save Romero's dog Excalibur did no good -- health officials announced the pet had been put down and its body incinerated.

It emerged Romero was not isolated until six days after she showed signs of the illness and after she had sought medical advice three times.

Five days after the priest died, she reported a mild fever and general fatigue but as her temperature had not reached the 38.6C threshold, she was advised to visit her local clinic. Several days later she again contacted health authorities but no action was taken. It was not until Tuesday, when her fever had reached 38.6C, that she was advised to contact her local hospital.

Six hours after tests confirmed Ebola, she was transferred in a specialist ambulance to an isolation unit.

- Telegraph Group Ltd, AP