A Spanish missionary has died from the Ebola virus after being the third person to receive experimental treatment for the disease.
Father Miguel Pajares, 75, of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God died in Madrid’s Carlos III Hospital, the hospital and the order said.
A doctor who was part of the team treating the priest confirmed he had received the experimental drug called ZMapp, the AP reports.
Father Pajares’ body will be cremated Wednesday to avoid any public health risks, the hospital said. He had been helping to treat people with Ebola in Liberia when he became ill and was evacuated.
The World Health Organization has said it believes it is ethical to use untested drugs and vaccines in the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Current supplies have almost run out, according to reports.
The outbreak of the virus, the biggest in history, has killed more than 1,000 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. Ebola has no proven vaccine and ZMapp is in its early stages of development.
Last week Congolese Sister Pascaline Chantal of the Immaculate Conception order died of the Ebola virus, according to the Fides agency. She had also been infected in Liberia where she worked as a nurse.
