Fears that a Nigerian passenger aboard
an Air France 1300 flight from Lagos, may have been suffering from the
deadly Ebola Virus Disease, on Thursday resulted to isolation of the
airline at Madrid’s Barajas International Airport in Spain.
Paris Aena and Air France confirmed that
amidst the panic that ensued, when the passenger suddenly began to
shake during the flight, the other passengers disembarked from the plane
as soon as the flight touched down at the airport before it was towed
away to be disinfected.
Spokespersons for Aena, the airport
operator and Spain’s ministry of health, also told Reuters that Ebola
emergency measures had been activated at the facility. Air France also
confirmed that the return flight has been cancelled.
This development is coming on the heels
of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) announcement of its plan to
officially declare Nigeria Ebola-free on October 20.
On Wednesday, the United Nations health
agency had said Nigeria and Senegal would be cleared of Ebola Virus
Disease, if the two countries successfully complete a 42-day period
without recording new cases.
Following the infection of a nurse in
Madrid, Teresa Romero, who was diagnosed with the virus last week and
reported to be seriously ill but stable, the Spanish government had
stepped up its response to suspected Ebola cases.
She had been involved in the treatment
of two infected priests who had returned to the country after a mission
in West Africa and who later died.
