LONDON: The first Ebola patient of UK, Pauline Cafferkey is back in the hospital with a rare relapse of the deadly virus. She was discharged from hospital about nine months ago after getting apparent clearance of the virus.
Her condition has gotten worse than before as London’s Royal Free Hospital announced Wednesday afternoon that Cafferkey’s condition had deteriorated and she was now critically ill.
The hospital didn’t elaborate on the news about the Scottish nurse who had been transferred there from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow because of an unusual late complication of her previous infection by the Ebola virus.
That day, the Royal Free Hospital indicated that Cafferkey was in serious condition and being treated in a high-level isolation unit.
‘Sad to hear of deterioration in Pauline Cafferkey’s condition,’ UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted. ‘Thoughts & prayers with her & wonderful team looking after her @RoyalFreeNHS.’
Since her January discharge, Cafferkey has been out and about, including receiving a Pride of Britain award late last month and paying a visit to 10 Downing Street, where pictures showed her with the prime minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron.
Last week Dr Emilia Crighton, director of public health for the National Health Service for Greater Glasgow and Clyde, insisted that the risk of the 39-year-old Cafferkey inadvertently passing on Ebola to anyone else was very low.
