Credit CDC PHIL
# 10,625
It has been five days since we’ve had an update on the Scottish nurse – Pauline Cafferkey – who suffered an Ebola relapse 9 months after her release from a month-long hospital stay last January.
On the 9th - the day she was re-admitted to the Royal Free - her condition was listed as `serious’ (see UK Ebola Survivor Cafferkey Back In Isolation After Relapse). Today the Royal Free Hospital of London has issued the following terse statement.
14 October 2015
Updated: 1pm
We are sad to announce that Pauline Cafferkey’s condition has deteriorated and she is now critically ill. Pauline is being treated for Ebola in the high level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital.
Updated: Friday 9 October, midday
Pauline Cafferkey is in a serious condition.
Details on her symptomology, the site of her virus retention, or why she may have suffered a relapse have not been released. Ms. Cafferkey originally sought medical attention on the 5th at an after-hours clinic, but was diagnosed with a `virus’ and sent home.
While the likelihood of her having passed on the virus to others prior to being isolated is considered small, 58 close contacts are being monitored, and 25 have accepted an experimental Ebola vaccine as a precaution (see CIDRAP report Contacts of hospitalized UK nurse get Ebola vaccine).
