--- title: Spanish Priest Dies from Ebola Despite Z-Mapp Treatment description: Spanish priest Miguel Pajares, the first European to contract the Ebola virus during the recent outbreak, died Tuesday in Madrid. canonical: https://time.com/3103916/spanish-priest-ebola-dies/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-12T17:25:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:58:05.138Z article:section: Health og:title: Spanish Priest Dies from Ebola Despite Z-Mapp Treatment og:description: Spanish priest Miguel Pajares, the first European to contract the Ebola virus during the recent outbreak, died Tuesday in Madrid. og:url: https://time.com/3103916/spanish-priest-ebola-dies/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f723844e32423e7/69869f49f983e7d98704f35c/miguel-pajares-ebola.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: SPAIN-LIBERIA-HEALTH-WAFRICA-EBOLA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Spanish Priest Dies from Ebola Despite Z-Mapp Treatment twitter:description: Spanish priest Miguel Pajares, the first European to contract the Ebola virus during the recent outbreak, died Tuesday in Madrid. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f723844e32423e7/69869f49f983e7d98704f35c/miguel-pajares-ebola.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Spanish Priest Dies of Ebola Despite Z-Mapp Treatment > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=bd427894-3e4b-4383-ba4e-5a8dd0f0d62f&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Despite ZMapp Treatment, Spanish Priest Dies From Ebola [Watch (HLS stream): Despite ZMapp Treatment, Spanish Priest Dies From Ebola](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gfUjclRI.m3u8) (1:15)  _Published 2014-08-12. The Spanish priest who was infected with Ebola and given an experimental treatment has died. The death of Miguel Pajares also marked the first European to die of the virus that’s killed more than 1,000 in west Africa._ by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Aug 12, 2014 5:25 PM UTC by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Aug 12, 2014 5:25 PM UTC Spanish priest Miguel Pajares, the first European to contract the Ebola virus during the recent outbreak, died Tuesday at a hospital in Madrid. Pajares was treated with ZMapp, an experimental drug that had not yet been tested on humans. Although Pajares’ condition stabilized after taking the drug, the disease hit his kidneys and heart, and he passed away around 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to Spanish newspaper _El Mundo_. Pajares had been working in a hospital in Liberia when he contracted the disease. He was 75 years old. ## Transcript The Spanish priest who had contracted Ebola, and was being given an experimental treatment, died Tuesday morning at a hospital in Madrid. The priest, 75- year- old Miguel Pajares had been working at a hospital in Monrovia, Liberia when he tested positive for the disease. As this video from the Spanish Ministry of Defense shows, Pajares arrived in Madrid on Thursday in a special containment unit, before being taken to the hospital. Apart from being the first European infected during the recent outbreak, Pajares' case made headlines because of the. Experimental drug he was given, ZMapp, the same the two infected American care givers received. The fact that [ UNKNOWN ] was treated with ZMapp stoked the fires of an on going ethical debate over who should receive the untested drug. Today, the World Health Organization has ruled that, that drug, and others, are ethical to use, even though they haven't been tested on humans. So, their efficacy. And side effects are unknown. Soon after that news, Al Jazeera reported the drug will be sent to Liberia. With the US approving a request from the Liberian government, for doses of [ UNKNOWN ]. Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, wrote that, at first, Pajare's condition seemed to have stabilized after receiving the drug. But the disease hit his kidneys and heart. And he passed away around 3AM. There is no known cure for Ebola. 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