08.10.2014 - 12:56
The European Commission has formally asked for explanations from the Spanish government on the Ebola contagion of a nurse in Madrid, the first case of infection in Europe since the disease broke out in Africa at the beginning of the year. The infected person, a 44-year old woman, on Monday morning was transferred to the Hospital Carlos III in Madrid, the same centre where the missionaries Miguel Pajares and Manuel García Viejo were treated. The Health Ministry has also isolated a further sixpeople and is monitoring more than fifty other, many of whom have been in direct contact with the nurse. Criticism of the lack of adherence to the protocol of action has come from several parts, including the groups of nurses from Madrid. The Spanish opposition and the medical profession have criticised the Health Minister Ana Mato’s management of the case and there are parties that have even called for her to resign.
The Commission assures that, ‘Our priority is to know what happened. The affected hospital, like many other European hospitals, was obliged to respect very strict rules precisely to avoid this kind of contamination,’ said the EU health spokesperson, Frederic Vincent.
The opposition rails against the minister
All of the opposition parties have pointed at the minister in requiring political responsibility for the case, calling for her to appear in congress and some even seeking her resignation. They all question the political management and the lack of explanations from the government since the first suspected case of Ebola.
The nurses in Madrid claim political responsibility for the Ebola contagion.
The president of the Madrid Nursing Association, Victoria Trujillo, assured that weeks ago it was reported that the protocol of action for Ebola cases was not being observed in the hospitals of Madrid. ‘Trained people are needed in dealing with a biological agent of the degree of Ebola, and this was not done despite our calling for it as early as April’. ‘The protocols of action were not given to the healthcare staff; the nurses are well trained but they were not given the information they needed,’ Trujillo assures.
The minister’s involvement in the Gürtel case of corruption
More than a year ago voices already rose asking for the minister’s resignation due to her connections with the Gürtel case of corruption, one of the largest in recent years to hit the PP party. The involvement of her former husband, Jesús Sepúlveda, increased criticisms against her because she appeared as the receiver of luxury gifts (Jaguars of unknown origin) and expenses financed by the movement, such as the 4,000 euros in confetti for one of her children’s parties or a family trip to Euro Disney in 1998.
