Madrid stocks plunge over first Ebola case outside Africa

The Madrid stock market sank on Tuesday following the announcement of the first case of the Ebola virus outside of Africa, which weighed heavily on the airline and tourism sectors.

The Ibex 35 index was down 1.72 percent to 10,462.7 points in early afternoon trading.

Shares of British group IAG, also listed in Madrid as the owner of Spanish carrier Iberia, tumbled 6.19 percent to 4.43 euros.

The world’s top travel reservation company, Amadeus, dropped 2.20 percent to 27.8050 euros following the news that a nurse in Madrid had contracted Ebola after treating two Spanish missionaries who died from the virus.

Tests confirmed that the 40-year-old woman has the disease, government officials said, making her the first person to contract the virus outside Africa, raising fears of a European outbreak.

Health officials are monitoring people she came into contact with and have said three more suspected cases of Ebola in Madrid are under observation.