title: Prevention and nursing care in the first case of Ebola virus disease contracted outside Africa.
abstract: After the evacuation from Africa to Western hospitals of several international workers with the Ebola virus disease, the first case of contagion outside Africa occurred in Madrid, Spain. A nursing care assistant who had attended a missionary repatriated from Sierra Leone contracted the disease. On October 7th2014, the patient arrived at the University Hospital La Paz-Carlos III in Madrid. She remained in the hospital for 30 days, 25 of which were in strict isolation in a negative pressure room with air lock anteroom; personal protective equipment was required. During the last five days, the patient was moved to a standard room. Protection measures were used in accordance with the Hospital Occupational Health Department. According to its evolution, we differentiate three phases with specific care demands which were conditioned by the risk of transmission, forcing extreme measures of prevention. The largest numbers of direct interventions fall within the realm of the nursing profession. It is essential that specialized units with regular training be created for highly contagious diseases. In addition, this and other cases should be analyzed from the point of view of nursing, to allow standardized care. We also recognize the importance of managing communication to prevent social unrest and stigmatization of staff.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación en cuidados IdIPAZ, Hospital La Paz, Madrid, España; Unidad de Aislamiento de Alto Nivel, Hospital Universitario La Paz-Carlos III -UAAN- , Madrid, España. Electronic address: alicia.ceron@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cerón-Serrano
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Aislamiento de Alto Nivel, Hospital Universitario La Paz-Carlos III -UAAN- , Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Castellano
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Aislamiento de Alto Nivel, Hospital Universitario La Paz-Carlos III -UAAN- , Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Ana María
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gómez-Campos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa; D005260:Female; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D013030:Spain
keywords: Control de infecciones; Cuidados de enfermería; Ebola virus; Equipo de protección personal; Infection control; Nursing care; Personal protective equipment; Virus del Ébola