Ebola-infected Spanish nurse continues 'favourable progress'

Teresa Romero, the 44-year-old Spanish nursing auxiliary who was the first person to be infected by the Ebola virus in Spain, continues to show favourable progress three weeks after first developing symptoms of the illness and a fortnight after being admitted into the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid.

According to family spokesperson Teresa Mesa, Romero feels much better and is able to eat solids, while she needs to use an oxygen mask less and less in order to breathe as her lungs recover capacity after being affected by the virus, Xinhua reported.

Mesa commented that Romero was looking forward to leaving the hospital and it was expected that Sunday she would undergo tests to discover if her body was now free of the virus, with the results to be published Monday.

"I hope she can give us something to be happy about on Monday morning," commented virologist Luis Enjuanes, a member of the special committee set up by the Spanish government to deal with the crisis.

If Romero does give a negative result for Ebola, she will then undergo a second test 72 hours later to confirm she has beaten the disease.