Man of Ebola patient threatened with lawsuit

Man from Spanish Ebola patient threatens with lawsuit

21/10/2014

Javier Limón, spouse of the care assistant Teresa Romero, who is suffering from Ebola in Spain, wants to sue the Spanish authorities according to the daily newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung. In a video he sent to the press in Madrid, he announced: „I'll prove to the court that managing the Ebola crisis was a big mess.“

The nursing assistant had been infected with the virus after treating a Ebola-infected missionary who had flown out of West Africa. Meanwhile, the woman had probably survived the infection, in a test, a spokesman for the expert commission of the Spanish government according to no more viruses. Another test is to confirm this. Meanwhile, her husband announced: „I am very glad that my wife has overcome the disease.“ And, according to Javier Limón: „I will give my last drop of blood to defend their honor and dignity.“

As reported by the Hamburger Abendblatt, there had previously been critical remarks that the nursing assistant was to blame for her infection. She would not have been careful enough to put off the protective clothing.

As Deutsche Welle (DW) reports, many workers in the Spanish healthcare sector see this differently. For days, they have been protesting for better working conditions and measures that better protect them from infection at work.

So far no approved therapy
According to Hamburger Abendblatt, the patient received blood serum from donors who survived an Ebola infection and developed antibodies. In addition, she is said to have been treated with various experimental drugs. The exact treatment method was not disclosed. So far, there is no recognized treatment or vaccine against the disease.

The case was the first Ebola infection among people in Europe. Currently, both the nursing assistant and her husband and another 14 women's contact persons are under surveillance. The authorities want to prevent a recurrence of the disease in all circumstances. In addition, it became known that the woman suffered damage to her organs.

Meanwhile, Florian Westphal, director of the aid organization Doctors Without Borders, has made serious allegations against the Western nations and their responses to the crisis in Africa. Too late and too little - that is the conclusion of Florian Westphal, according to DW. "The international community was not ready and for too long not willing to hear our warnings," continued Westphal. Efforts still fail to meet the requirements and much more needs to be done to stem the virus. At the same time, the patients would have to be treated further. (Jp)