LONDON, Jan 4: A Scottish nurse, who was diagnosed with Ebola in the UK after returning from volunteering in Sierra Leone, is now in a ‘critical’ condition.
“Pauline Cafferkey’s condition has worsened and she is now critically ill with Ebola,” doctors attending to her said.
Her condition deteriorated as another suspected Ebola patient was being tested for the disease in Swindon after becoming unwell since returning from West Africa.
Cafferkey is being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in north London, having been transferred on a military-style plane from her local hospital in Glasgow.
She was one of a 30-strong team of medical volunteers deployed to Africa by the UK Government last month and had been working with child NGO Save the Children at the Ebola Treatment Centre in Kerry Town.
Cafferkey returned to the UK last Sunday after spending five weeks in Africa. She was able to pass through Heathrow, board a flight with other passengers to Glasgow and return home before she began to feel ill.
Prime Minister David Cameron last night said his thoughts and prayers were with Cafferkey while the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said the 39-year-old was being given the “best possible care”.
Cafferkey’s family were believed to be at the specialist hospital quarantine unit where she has been undergoing experimental drug treatment since she was diagnosed with the virus late last month. (PTI)
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