Spanish Nurse First Infected In Europe—And Even Her Dog’s Worried

As fears over a global pandemic of Ebola reach frightening levels, not only in Africa but in Europe and the Americas as well, news this morning of the first infection transmitted in Europe caused a massive effort by Spanish health officials as they try to isolate those possibly infected.

After discovering that a nurse's aide in Madrid had contracted Ebola while living in Europe, alarmed Spanish health authorities reacted forcefully as they aimed to quarantine her family and eliminate the risk of further transmission. And that means even her pet dog is a concern.

While Ebola has not been studied as to determine whether it has zoonotic properties between humans and canines, health officials requested a court order this morning to euthanize the nurse's pet dog for fear that he too could transmit the disease. But, the United States' Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are not on the same page.

"We have not identified this as a means of transmission" director of the CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden said at a news conference held this morning, Oct. 7. But the director declined to comment on any of the particular actions taken by the Madrid officials.

While officials believe that the Spanish nurse, who has not been publicly identified, contracted the disease while treating two Ebola-stricken missionaries at Madrid's Carlos III hospital, no official report has been released as to how the transmission occurred in Spain. However, the European Union has demanded an explanation as to how the health worker could have become infected, and is asking that Spain address the questions as to why their crisis center was not up to code on safety protocols.

"Tomorrow morning we will have an audio conference call of EU's Health Security Committee" spokesperson for European Health Commission, Frederic Vincent says. "We will all listen very carefully to what the Spanish officials have to tell us on why the hospital was not ready for Ebola patients."

And while Spanish health officials are waiting to find out what their fates may be for dropping the ball on such a deadly pathogenic pandemic, the nurse is facing a lethal infection and her dog, a death sentence.