Spanish nurse 'depressed' over continued isolation

Teresa Romero, the Spanish nursing auxiliary who is the first person to be infected of the Ebola virus outside Africa, said she has suffered an "emotional comedown" over the past two days.

The 44-year-old was confirmed as cured of Ebola Tuesday when the second test in 48 hours confirmed she no longer had the virus in her bloodstream, but doctors at the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid where she is being treated decided to maintain her in isolation in case the virus was present in any of her bodily fluids.

According to family spokesperson Teresa Mesa, this decision, along with hearing the news that authorities had put down her dog because it was thought the animal also presented a risk, has affected Romero, Xinhua reported.

"She has suffered a serious emotional drop," said Mesa, who added that Romero felt "weak" and was "taking badly" the fact she could not begin to lead a normal life.

Mesa confirmed Romero was deeply upset by the loss of her dog, saying she was "crying all day thinking about him", and insisting that whoever had ordered the dog to be put down should "pay for doing so."

Meanwhile, five of the 15 people who remained in isolation after coming into contact with Romero after she first developed symptoms of Ebola Sep 30, were allowed to leave the Carlos III Hospital after passing the 21-day mark which is the maximum gestation period for Ebola.

The remaining contacts, including Romero's husband, Javier Limon, will be able to leave the hospital Monday if they continue without developing symptoms.

Finally, the investigation continued into how Romero became infected as she treated Spanish missionary, Manuel Garcia Viejo, who died Sep 25, and authorities continued to insist the chances of her being infected through a failure in her protective suit are "very low".