THE UK NURSE who fought off Ebola last year is now critically ill in hospital after being hit by the virus for a second time.
Pauline Cafferkey was admitted to the Royal Free hospital in London last week for specialised care in an isolation tent after she fell ill again.
Her condition at the time was described as serious but her doctors today said she is now “critically ill”.
“We are sad to announce that Pauline Cafferkey’s condition has deteriorated and she is now critically ill,” a statement from the hospital said. ”Pauline is being treated for Ebola in the high level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital.”
She contracted the infection while volunteering in Sierra Leone last December. After three weeks of treatment she was given the all-clear and discharged. Medics believed she would make a full recovery.
Last Tuesday, she was admitted to hospital in Glasgow and was later flown to London for treatment because of an “unusual late complication”. It is now understood it is a serious recurrence of the virus.
According to her family, doctors in Scotland missed an opportunity to act quickly.
Health officials have contacted and are monitoring 58 people who have been in close contact with Cafferkey, 40 of whom have had direct contact with her bodily fluids – the main mode of transmission.
With reporting by AFP
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