Spain sets up Ebola 'crisis committee' Published duration 10 October 2014

image copyright Getty Images image caption Warning messages about Ebola have appeared in public places in Spain

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has set up a special committee to deal with the impact of Europe's first case of Ebola.

Mr Rajoy admitted that the situation was "complex and difficult", but stressed that the government had a clear plan of what needed to be done.

Spanish nurse Teresa Romero is said to be gravely ill, after catching the haemorrhagic fever while caring for patients brought from West Africa.

The outbreak has killed more than 3,860 people, mainly in West Africa.

More than 200 health workers are among the victims.

Ebola is now entrenched in the capitals of the worst-affected states - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

'Deep-clean'

Speaking outside Madrid's Carlos III hospital, where the 44-year-old Spanish nurse is being treated, Mr Rajoy said: "Our first priority is Teresa Romero - she is the only person that we know has the illness".

image copyright AP image caption Prime Minister Rajoy (centre) said the government was clear about what needed to be done

image copyright EPA image caption Ebola is taking a particularly heavy toll in Liberia

image caption Results of the clinical trial span several countries in the region, and results will be sent to a team of experts

The prime minister said the second key task was to find others who might have caught the virus and investigate how this happened.

He was speaking as seven more people in Spain were being monitored in hospital for suspected Ebola.

They include two hairdressers who came into contact with Ms Romero.

The nurse's apartment in Alcorcon, near Madrid, has been sealed.

Notices outside the complex announce an ongoing deep-clean by emergency services, the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Madrid says.

On the driveway, there is a message of sympathy and hope, and a small scattering of candles can be seen, our correspondent adds.

Ms Romero is believed to have become infected after touching her face with the glove of her protective suit while taking it off.

Experimental serum

Meanwhile, a senior health official told the BBC that leading global experts in the field had not anticipated the scale of the Ebola outbreak.

media caption WHO's Dr Chris Dye: We didn't anticipate this outbreak was going to be this big

Chris Dye from the WHO said the international response was helping, and the important thing now was to look forward.

"We've asked for a response of about $1bn (£618m); so far we have around $300m (£185m) with more being pledged, so a bit less than half of what we need but it's climbing quickly all the time," he said.

In April, the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned of the potential spread of the virus, but at the time the WHO played down the claims , saying that Ebola was neither an epidemic, nor was it unprecedented.

On Friday MSF reported a sharp increase of Ebola cases in the Guinean capital, Conakry, dashing hopes that the disease was being stabilised there.

Meanwhile in Mali, an experimental serum is being tested on volunteer health workers.

The trial spans several countries, and the results will be sent to experts to determine whether it can protect against Ebola.

In other developments:

The Ebola crisis has resulted in the activation for the first time of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters. Its normal role is to provide satellite imagery to make damage and hazard-assessment maps

Liberian MPs have rejected a request to grant President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf additional powers - including limiting the movement of individuals - to deal with the outbreak

Meanwhile, senate elections due next week have been postponed to help reduce the risk of voters spreading the virus

Nigeria's military has confirmed that more than 1,300 Nigerian peacekeeping troops have been quarantined in Liberia after coming into contact with a Sudanese man who later died of the disease. It had earlier denied such reports

More details of how passengers at some British airports will be screened are expected to be announced later on Friday

The US begins its programme of enhanced screening this weekend at five of its major airports, including JFK

image copyright Reuters image caption The US is preparing to send troops to West Africa to fight Ebola

Avoid direct contact with sick patients

Wear goggles to protect eyes

Clothing and clinical waste should be incinerated and any medical equipment that needs to be kept should be decontaminated

People who recover from Ebola should abstain from sex or use condoms for three months