Emergency measures were activated at a Madrid airport on Thursday after a passenger arriving on an Air France plane prompted fears of being infected with Ebola when he started shivering with a fever on the flight, Air France and airports operator Aena said. The flight had flown in from Lagos, Nigeria, via Charles de Gaulle in Paris.
Upon landing at Barajas International Airport, the unidentified passenger was immediately surrounded by a police motorcade, placed in an ambulance being driven by a male wearing white protective gear, and taken to the Spanish capital's Carlos III Hospital, according to television images.
After being parked on the tarmac for a while, at least 160 passengers were disembarked from the plane, with Air France officials assuring that the plane would be disinfected later, Reuters reported.
"There were police cars, there was an ambulance...there was also the fire brigade and people in white suits," said passenger Bronween Bashford, who had been waiting to board the plane in Madrid. "There was a lot of activity out on the tarmac."
While sources at the airline suggested that the passenger did not have Ebola, an Air France spokesperson claimed the isolation of the passenger to have been implemented "for medical checks." However, an Ebola emergency protocol at the airport was confirmed by Spain's health ministry, who declined to provide further details.
Although the current death toll of nearly 4,500 Ebola victims has largely been centralized in West Africa, a handful of cases have popped up in the United States, Spain, and Germany, with each nation introducing additional screening measures for the virus at their main international airports.
The Spanish government has also recently stepped up its response to suspected cases of Ebola after a nurse, Teresa Romero, in Madrid became the first person outside Africa to become infected with the deadly virus last week. She contracted the disease after caring for two Catholic priests who were repatriated from West Africa and later died. Currently, Romero is reported to be seriously ill, but still in stable condition, according to UK MailOnline.
Meanwhile, up to 4,000 U.S. troops are being deployed to West Africa to help control the Ebola outbreak. Since four U.S. air bases are situated in Spain, the country has asked for Madrid's permission to use the bases for its operation, a U.S. Defense Ministry source said on Thursday.
"None of the planes will transport patients or people suspected to have contracted Ebola, or who have been in contact with infected people," he said. "Spain will have a right to inspect the planes and passengers."
A decision is due to be announced on Friday when Spanish Defense Minister Pedro Morenes meets U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Washington, according to Reuters.
If approved, at least 700 members of the U.S. army are set to travel to Liberia, with only 150 being quipped with safety training to protect themselves from the virus. Their main aim will be to build Ebola care centers and train healthcare workers in the country, the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. military said.
