THE SOONER YOU ACT ON THIS STUFF, THE BETTER OFF YOU ARE: After Its First Ebola Case, Spain Seeks to Prevent Spread of Virus.

Spain intensified efforts on Tuesday to contain any spread of Ebola from an infected health worker as the government came under increased pressure from the political opposition and the European Union.

The health worker, a nurse who has not been identified, was described as being in a stable condition. Her husband was quarantined, and monitoring was extended to medical staff who came into in contact with her. The nurse contracted the illness while treating a Spanish missionary who was infected in Sierra Leone and flown to Carlos III Hospital in Madrid.

Opposition politicians said Tuesday that Ana Mato, the health minister, needed to explain any safety lapse, while some called for her immediate removal. Caridad García Álvarez, a lawmaker from the United Left party, wrote on Twitter that Ms. Mato needed to resign after ignoring warnings from health workers about inadequate safety measures. . . .

Carlos III Hospital had been specifically selected by Spain to welcome repatriated Ebola patients, and Yolanda Fuentes, a deputy director of the hospital, said Monday that the protective suits worn by health workers “comply perfectly with the protocol and the required protective measures for this disease.”

The European Commission wrote to the Madrid government requesting an explanation of how the nurse was infected, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Frédéric Vincent, a spokesman for the commission. A European health safety committee is set to meet on Wednesday to review the situation. Still, Mr. Vincent said it was “highly improbable” that the virus would spread further across Europe.

As an assistant nurse, the woman who became infected had only twice entered the room of Manuel García Viejo, a priest who died of Ebola, including once after his death, according to Antonio Alemany, a health official from the regional government of Madrid.

It’s not clear to me that the infection-control precautions for Ebola are sufficient to protect health workers, given how many of them have been infected.

UPDATE: Why Spanish nurse is such a troubling Ebola case.

Also: Spain investigates how nurse caught Ebola.

Related: Treat Ebola like smallpox? It would help to have a vaccine.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ebola in Spain raises questions about protection. “Three more people were under quarantine Tuesday for possible Ebola at a Madrid hospital after a Spanish nursing assistant became infected there, authorities said. More than 50 others were being monitored as experts pressed to figure out why Spain’s anti-infection practices failed. Health authorities were investigating how the nursing assistant, part of a special team that cared for a Spanish priest who died of Ebola last month, became infected. She was the first case of Ebola being transmitted outside of West Africa, where a months-long outbreak has killed at least 3,500 people and sparked social unrest. . . . Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, said her case shows that health workers can be at risk not only in West Africa but in the sophisticated medical centers in Europe and the United States. . . . Rafael Perez-Santamarina, the hospital’s director, said authorities did not know yet how the nursing assistant got infected despite the use of internationally recognized precautions against Ebola.” Yes, the whole “we’re safe because Africans don’t have our sophisticated health care” argument isn’t looking exactly bulletproof.

Also: Ebola Is Bad But Flu Is Worse. I dunno. I’ve had my flu shot, but Walgreen’s was fresh out of Ebola Vaccine.