It's probably impossible to know for sure, but I'd take a stab that the number who have died WITH it are in the double digits or less.
Ebola is coming to kill us all but it's nothing to worry about
- Thread starter Locutus
- Start date
It's probably impossible to know for sure, but I'd take a stab that the number who have died WITH it are in the double digits or less.
The Scottish NHS nurse who has brought Ebola to the UK has been named as Pauline Cafferkey. Colleagues fear she may have contracted the disease in Sierra Leone on Christmas Day. She was treating the sick whilst working for Save the Children.
Colleagues who volunteered with her believe she may have contracted the deadly disease after attending a church service without wearing her hazard suit on Christmas morning.
Mrs Cafferkey flew from Sierra Leonian capital freetown to Casablanca in Morocco and then flew from Casablanca to London Heathrow. Once at London Heathrow she then boarded British Airways flight BA1478 to Glasgow where she landed at 11.30pm last night.
Within eight hours she was quarantined and tested positive for Ebola. After being sent to a Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital she was then flown back to London by a military aircraft, landing at RAF Northolt in west London. From there she was taken by an RAF ambulance to the specialist high-level isolation wing of London's Royal Free Hospital.
A doctor who sat next to Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey on her flight home to Britain said today the Government's checks and rules to stop the deadly disease spreading are 'shambolic'.
Dr Martin Deahl said staff at Heathrow testing him and Miss Cafferkey when they landed in the UK from Sierra Leone with 30 other volunteers on Sunday 'didn't seem to know what they were doing'.
He also criticised Public Health England's (PHE) rules on travel, which say medics returning from Ebola-hit regions should take public transport home but must avoid planes, trains and buses after that.
The authorities are now desperately trying to chase the other 70 people who were onboard flight BA1478 from London to Glasgow but stress that they are at low risk.
Why were 30 Ebola healthcare volunteers left to make their own way home? Doctor's anger at Public Health England's 'shambolic' handling of group returning from Sierra Leone including nurse who has the deadly virus
By Rosie Taylor and Sophie Borland and Harriet Sime for the Daily Mail and Ollie Gillman and Martin Robinson for MailOnline
Daily Mail
30 December 2014
A doctor who sat next to Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey on her flight home to Britain said today the Government's checks and rules to stop the deadly disease spreading are 'shambolic'.
Dr Martin Deahl said staff at Heathrow testing him and Miss Cafferkey when they landed in the UK from Sierra Leone with 30 other volunteers on Sunday 'didn't seem to know what they were doing'.
He also criticised Public Health England's (PHE) rules on travel, which say medics returning from Ebola-hit regions should take public transport home but must avoid planes, trains and buses after that.
As a result Scottish NHS nurse Miss Cafferkey took a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Glasgow and within eight hours was quarantined in hospital and tested positive for Ebola.
Since then the authorities have been desperately trying to trace the 70 other people who were on board.
Pictured: This is Pauline Cafferkey, the Scottish NHS nurse from just outside Glasgow who is believed to have contracted Ebola while working for Save the Children treating the sick in Sierra Leone
Transfer: The nurse was diagnosed with Ebola yesterday and was seen today walking from an ambulance at Glasgow Airport as she was moved by military aircraft to London this morning
'Shambolic': Dr Martin Deahl, pictured, sat next to the nurse on their flight home to London and said the testing at Heathrow failed and Public Health England has put the public at risk
Journey: Miss Cafferkey left Sierra Leone on Sunday on her long journey back to Glasgow via Casablanca and Heathrow
Dr Deahl told MailOnline that PHE's 'illogical' rules mean public health has been put at risk and the people who were on the Glasgow plane are 'scared witless'.
He said: 'The precautions and checks at the airport were shambolic. They ran out of testing kits and didn't seem to know what they were doing.
'We were told that we were considered high risk but yet were told to make our own way home from Heathrow, either on the Tube, by bus or train or another flight like the one Pauline and others took. I was picked up.
'Public Health England told us we should avoid public transport or crowded places for 21 days, but only after we had got home. It defies common sense and we told them that.
'A group who arrived back on Christmas Eve were all given taxis home but we weren't and one can only conclude this is because Public Health England wanted to save money.
'Now all these people on that flight to Glasgow will be scared witless and it could have been avoided'.
Questions are already being asked about the Government's Ebola screening programme because the woman was vetted twice – in Sierra Leone and at Heathrow – without any symptoms being detected.
Hours after arriving home Pauline Cafferkey fell ill and soon afterwards became the first Briton to be diagnosed with Ebola on UK soil.
Colleagues who volunteered with her believe she may have contracted the deadly disease after attending a church service without wearing her hazard suit on Christmas morning.
Today she is in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London after being flown from Glasgow this morning surrounded by a large medical team in protective clothing.
Dr Deahl said today he 'would bet anything that she caught Ebola in the community', most likely on Christmas Day.
Miss Cafferkey fell ill hours after she flew back to Scotland from Africa via Heathrow, and the authorities have traced 63 of the 70 people who flew with her from London to Glasgow on Sunday.
Questions are already being asked about the Government's Ebola screening programme because the woman was vetted twice – in Sierra Leone and at Heathrow – without any symptoms being detected.
Dr Deahl said that medical staff in Sierra Leone always wore hazard suits at work but some did not when they went out into the wider community.
A number of the 30 NHS staff out in Sierra Leone, including himself, worshipped at a local church on Christmas Day.
He also said that at Freetown airport in Sierra Leone all the volunteers were 'kissing and hugging' as they left the country, including Miss Cafferkey.
All the NHS workers who flew back with Miss Cafferkey must monitor their temperature and call Public Health England every day before Midday with their readings or doctors will be sent.
Dr Deahl said: 'I would bet anything that she caught this while out in the community. I went to church myself on Christmas morning and I have no doubt Pauline probably contracted the virus doing something similar.
'We had a rule known as ABC which stood for Absolute no Body Contact but when you are in the community it is difficult to stick to the rules and easy to become complacent. It is also difficult when children come up to you and hug you.'
Dr Deahl flew back from Casablanca to London with Miss Cafferkey and said he was 'heartbroken' she has fallen ill.
But he criticised Public Health England for poor advice on when those exposed to deadly virus should travel.
He said: 'I was sitting next to her on the plane when we flew back on Sunday night and she seemed fine. I am absolutely fine. I am just so shocked and heartbroken to hear that anyone from our team is ill'.
This morning she was moved to the Royal Free Hospital in London after being loaded onto a military aircraft in a cocoon by medical staff in protective suits at Glasgow Airport.
There are also fears for passengers and staff who had close contact with the nurse, who flew from Freetown to London via Morocco before reaching Scotland late on Sunday night.
Officials are urgently trying to trace 71 people on her British Airways BA1478 flight from London to Glasgow.
They will also be contacting passengers who were sitting near her on her other flights back to the UK via Casablanca – Royal Air Maroc flights AT596 and AT0800.
Special care: After being put on a cocooned bed Miss Cafferkey was loaded on to the jet, which took off this morning and landed at RAF Northolt near Heathrow
Arrival: The military aircraft landed at RAF Northolt and she was then moved into an RAF ambulance, which was given a police escort to the Royal Free Hospital in London today
Care: The unnamed woman was initially taken to Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital but was moved to the Royal Free Hospital in London
This morning Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Miss Cafferkey was 'doing as well as can be expected in the circumstances'.
Ms Sturgeon said Health Protection Scotland is making 'very good progress' with contacting passengers on the British Airways flight from Heathrow to Glasgow.
EBOLA PATIENT'S ROUTE TO GLASGOW FROM SIERRA LEONE
December 28, 2.30am: Health worker takes off on Royal Air Maroc flight AT596 from Freetown, Sierra Leone.
6.10am: Flight lands at Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca, Morocco.
12.20pm: She then boards Royal Air Maroc flight AT0800 from Casablanca to Heathrow.
3.50pm: Flight lands at Heathrow Terminal 4.
After 4pm: Health worker is bussed to Heathrow Terminal 5 alongside passengers from other flights.
9.10pm: She takes off from Terminal 5 on BA flight BA1478.
11:30pm: Flight lands at Glasgow Airport and she travels home.
December 29, 7:50am: Patient arrives by ambulance at Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital after feeling unwell and is placed in isolation.
She said: 'After the passenger list was received last night, there were 70 people that required to be traced.
'As of this time, 63 of them have been contacted and either spoken to directly or have had messages left for them, so some contact has been made with 63 out of the 70.'
She also said a second health worker is being tested for Ebola in Scotland after returning from West Africa, but said there was a 'low probability' they have the disease.
It also emerged this morning that another patient is being tested for Ebola after being admitted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro last night and is being kept in isolation for 24 hours while they wait for the results.
Public Health England today explained its policy on health workers returning to the UK.
A spokesman said: 'The Scottish patient was on the returning worker scheme and was screened at Heathrow Airport on arrival, in line with standard procedures. At this point they were assessed as per protocol and cleared to travel home. This process was overseen by a medical consultant.
'Naturally, we are keen to learn whatever we can from the emerging details of this case and will be reviewing what happened and the screening protocols, to see if anything needs to be changed.'
Hours after she arrived home Miss Cafferkey alerted the authorities and said she feared she had Ebola and was taken to a Glasgow hospital by special ambulance, immediately isolated and diagnosed with the virus.
New tests: The second Scottish patient who is being tested, pictured in orange, had been staying at a youth hostel in the Highlands and has also returned from West Africa
Precautions: The woman was met by a team of medics in protective suits and transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Convoy: The unnamed woman, taken to Aberdeen by police and paramedics, is said to have only a very small chance of having Ebola
Experts said early symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle pain and sore throat develop suddenly. A person is only infectious at the point at which they begin to show symptoms.
Previous victim: Mr Pooley was flown home from Sierra Leone in August after contracting ebola
At the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, the health worker was admitted through a specially-assigned hospital entrance, before being taken to the high-level isolation unit – the only ward in the UK equipped to cope with Ebola.
It is the same isolation unit that nursed William Pooley back to health after he contracted Ebola in August.
Paul Cosford, medical director for Public Health England, told Sky News the woman was 'very brave'.
He said: 'She is a very brave person who was fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. She is en route to Royal Free where she will receive the best possible treatment for her disease.'
He added that the woman was admitted to hospital in the early hours of the morning, shortly after arriving home from Sierra Leone the previous evening, and she had not exhibited any severe symptoms of the disease, meaning there was a low risk of transmission to other passengers.
'The most important thing to remember about Ebola is it is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids - diarrhoea, blood or vomit.
'She only had a fever and when people have a fever they do not transmit the virus. We believe the risk to the public is low.'
It is understood the second Scottish patient who is being tested had been staying at a youth hostel in the Highlands.
Ms Sturgeon told BBC Scotland: 'I should stress that, although this is another returning healthcare worker from West Africa, the patient here, as far as we are aware, has had no direct contact with people infected with Ebola, so it is a case that is being described as low probability.
'But we are operating, given the seriousness of Ebola, on a highly precautionary basis and that's why this patient will be transferred for tests.'
Treatment: The nurse has been transferred to the specialist high-level isolation wing of London's Royal Free Hospital.
Care: This is the high-level isolation unit in London where the woman will be treated in the coming days and weeks
Around 100 have been tested for Ebola in hospitals across England this year so far.
Last night the authorities moved to reassure the public the risk of infection was negligible and that the UK was prepared for the disease.
Professor Jonathan Ball, an expert in molecular virology at Nottingham University, said the case showed airport checks are unable to spot Ebola.
He said this was because symptoms such as a high temperature can take up to three weeks to develop.
'When [screening] was introduced it was more a measure of reassurance rather than something that actually worked,' he said.
'Because the incubation period for Ebola is up to 21 days, it's impossible to detect as you don't show symptoms.'
In October, ministers were accused of a chaotic response to the Ebola crisis when it emerged screening measures amounted to little more than a questionnaire.
The tests involve assessing passengers' recent travel history and who they have been in contact with, as well as a possible medical assessment.
Passengers who have come from Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea are put in a separate queue at customs.
In a holding area, they are asked how they are feeling, whether they have been in contact with Ebola victims and if they have touched bush meat. If the medical staff are concerned, they start a full assessment.
But they stop short of screening passengers with thermal guns to pick out those with an elevated temperature, a procedure adopted in the US.
It is understood the nurse had close contact with one other person following her journey. Officials would not confirm whether this was her partner or a relative. Anyone thought to be at risk is expected to be monitored by the authorities.
Another British nurse, William Pooley, was flown home from Sierra Leone in August after contracting ebola at a treatment clinic. He recovered and has returned to West Africa to continue his mission.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee, while Downing Street said David Cameron had spoken to Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and made clear the Government would help in any way possible.
Miss Cafferkey is thought to have been in west Africa for around five weeks and left Sierra Leone on Sunday.
Last night the Scottish government said 'all possible contacts with the patient' were being investigated.
The nurse's condition was last night described as clinically stable and health officials said her prognosis was good as the illness had been caught early.
The chief medical officer, Sally Davies, said she expected a handful of Ebola cases in Britain in the coming months but that the NHS was very well prepared to cope with the virus which has killed more than 7,000, mainly in West Africa.
Dame Sally said: 'It is important to be reassured that although a case has been identified, the overall risk to the public continues to be low.
'We have robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases.'
A British Airways spokesman said: 'We are working closely with the health authorities in England and Scotland and will offer assistance with any information they require.
'Customers who flew from London Heathrow to Glasgow on BA1478 which departed at 2100 on Sunday, December 28, and have concerns should contact the special number 08000 858531 set up by the Scottish Government.
'The risk to people on board that individual flight is extremely low.'
More than 20,000 people in West Africa have been infected with the virus since the outbreak begun, with more than 7,000 killed.
WHAT TREATMENTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR EBOLA PATIENTS?
There are currently no specific drugs to cure Ebola, nor any approved vaccines to prevent the disease.
Two experimental vaccines are currently being trialled on human volunteers in the UK, US, Mali and Uganda.
Experts expect to see the first results of those trials early next year.
Ms Cafferkey who has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital in London will receive supportive care.
The Royal Free Hospital is the only High Level Isolation Unit in the UK to house two high-security containment beds.
They are located inside isolation 'bubbles' - specially-designed tents with controlled ventilation allowing medics to provide clinical care while containing the infection.
Three other hospitals - The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne Royal Victoria Infirmary and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals - are designated centres for escalation if more patients are diagnosed with Ebola.
There are around 50 other designated Ebola beds at these three centres.
Medics will work to re hydrate Ms Cafferkey using oral and intravenous fluids.
Specific symptoms such as diarrohea and fever will be treated directly, to try and improve her chances of surviving.
William Pooley, the British nurse who survived Ebola, was treated with the experimental drug ZMapp.
It is a blend of three laboratory-made antibodies designed to neutralise the virus.
Two US aid workers, Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol were also given the drug after they were infected with the virus while working in Liberia. They too, subsequently recovered.
But experts do not know if those given the drug were saved by it, or whether luck played a part.
Around 45 per cent of those infected in the current outbreak have survived without treatment.
Meanwhile at least two other patients treated with ZMapp have died, possibly because help got to them too late.
ZMapp, developed by US biotech company Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc, is manufactured in the leaves of genetically modified tobacco plants.
The process could yield 20 to 40 doses a month.
Evidence suggests that effective treatment with ZMapp requires three doses of 15 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
In September, shortly after being discharged from the Royal Free, Mr Pooley, travelled to the US to undergo a blood transfusion to help an American colleague who was being treated for the virus.
It is thought the blood of those who have survived the disease may contain antibodies, which can prove effective in fighting the disease.
EBOLA NURSE WROTE DIARY ABOUT SAVING LIVES IN SIERRA LEONE
Pauline Cafferkey wrote a moving diary of her time working as a volunteer with Save the Children helping Ebola victims in Sierra Leone.
She left with 30 other NHS staff in November who all worked at various hospitals in west Africa.
She told how from the moment she stepped off the plane, the smell of chlorine hit her and a thermometer was pointed at her head.
Also she described the 'horrendous' suit she had to wear while treating patients.
She wrote in the Scotsman: 'The PPE [personal protective equipment] alien-type suit that I have to wear when going into the positive Red Zone is horrendous. It takes about 20 minutes to dress and 15 minutes to take the suit off at the other end. They would be beneficial on a cold winter's night in Scotland, but working in them in 30-degree heat is uncomfortable to say the least.
'I feel very well protected. I was unaware that I could sweat so much. When I get to the decontamination area and remove the suit and gloves, there are pools of sweat dripping from me and not a dry hair on my head.
'I feel sorry for the poor patients who have these alien-type people caring for them. Especially so for the young children, who are not only very sick but have these strange creatures with only their eyes visible trying to make them drink and take medications.'
Read more: British Ebola victim Pauline Cafferkey pictured | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Colleagues who volunteered with her believe she may have contracted the deadly disease after attending a church service without wearing her hazard suit on Christmas morning.
Mrs Cafferkey flew from Sierra Leonian capital freetown to Casablanca in Morocco and then flew from Casablanca to London Heathrow. Once at London Heathrow she then boarded British Airways flight BA1478 to Glasgow where she landed at 11.30pm last night.
Within eight hours she was quarantined and tested positive for Ebola. After being sent to a Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital she was then flown back to London by a military aircraft, landing at RAF Northolt in west London. From there she was taken by an RAF ambulance to the specialist high-level isolation wing of London's Royal Free Hospital.
A doctor who sat next to Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey on her flight home to Britain said today the Government's checks and rules to stop the deadly disease spreading are 'shambolic'.
Dr Martin Deahl said staff at Heathrow testing him and Miss Cafferkey when they landed in the UK from Sierra Leone with 30 other volunteers on Sunday 'didn't seem to know what they were doing'.
He also criticised Public Health England's (PHE) rules on travel, which say medics returning from Ebola-hit regions should take public transport home but must avoid planes, trains and buses after that.
The authorities are now desperately trying to chase the other 70 people who were onboard flight BA1478 from London to Glasgow but stress that they are at low risk.
Why were 30 Ebola healthcare volunteers left to make their own way home? Doctor's anger at Public Health England's 'shambolic' handling of group returning from Sierra Leone including nurse who has the deadly virus
Nurse Pauline Cafferkey fell ill in Glasgow after return from Sierra Leone
Colleagues fear she may have contracted Ebola on Christmas Day
Screened for symptoms in Sierra Leone and London but nothing picked up
63 of 70 people on flight from Heathrow to Glasgow have been contacted
Dr Martin Deahl sat next to her on service to Heathrow from Casablanca
He said: 'The precautions and checks at Heathrow were shambolic. They ran out of testing kits and didn't seem to know what they were doing'
Second Health Worker from Scotland is also being tested for Ebola
Patient also being tested for disease in Cornwall and is in isolation
PM holds COBRA emergency meeting and says risk to public is 'very low'
Colleagues fear she may have contracted Ebola on Christmas Day
Screened for symptoms in Sierra Leone and London but nothing picked up
63 of 70 people on flight from Heathrow to Glasgow have been contacted
Dr Martin Deahl sat next to her on service to Heathrow from Casablanca
He said: 'The precautions and checks at Heathrow were shambolic. They ran out of testing kits and didn't seem to know what they were doing'
Second Health Worker from Scotland is also being tested for Ebola
Patient also being tested for disease in Cornwall and is in isolation
PM holds COBRA emergency meeting and says risk to public is 'very low'
By Rosie Taylor and Sophie Borland and Harriet Sime for the Daily Mail and Ollie Gillman and Martin Robinson for MailOnline
Daily Mail
30 December 2014
A doctor who sat next to Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey on her flight home to Britain said today the Government's checks and rules to stop the deadly disease spreading are 'shambolic'.
Dr Martin Deahl said staff at Heathrow testing him and Miss Cafferkey when they landed in the UK from Sierra Leone with 30 other volunteers on Sunday 'didn't seem to know what they were doing'.
He also criticised Public Health England's (PHE) rules on travel, which say medics returning from Ebola-hit regions should take public transport home but must avoid planes, trains and buses after that.
As a result Scottish NHS nurse Miss Cafferkey took a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Glasgow and within eight hours was quarantined in hospital and tested positive for Ebola.
Since then the authorities have been desperately trying to trace the 70 other people who were on board.
Pictured: This is Pauline Cafferkey, the Scottish NHS nurse from just outside Glasgow who is believed to have contracted Ebola while working for Save the Children treating the sick in Sierra Leone
Transfer: The nurse was diagnosed with Ebola yesterday and was seen today walking from an ambulance at Glasgow Airport as she was moved by military aircraft to London this morning
'Shambolic': Dr Martin Deahl, pictured, sat next to the nurse on their flight home to London and said the testing at Heathrow failed and Public Health England has put the public at risk
Journey: Miss Cafferkey left Sierra Leone on Sunday on her long journey back to Glasgow via Casablanca and Heathrow
Dr Deahl told MailOnline that PHE's 'illogical' rules mean public health has been put at risk and the people who were on the Glasgow plane are 'scared witless'.
He said: 'The precautions and checks at the airport were shambolic. They ran out of testing kits and didn't seem to know what they were doing.
'We were told that we were considered high risk but yet were told to make our own way home from Heathrow, either on the Tube, by bus or train or another flight like the one Pauline and others took. I was picked up.
'Public Health England told us we should avoid public transport or crowded places for 21 days, but only after we had got home. It defies common sense and we told them that.
'A group who arrived back on Christmas Eve were all given taxis home but we weren't and one can only conclude this is because Public Health England wanted to save money.
'Now all these people on that flight to Glasgow will be scared witless and it could have been avoided'.
Questions are already being asked about the Government's Ebola screening programme because the woman was vetted twice – in Sierra Leone and at Heathrow – without any symptoms being detected.
Hours after arriving home Pauline Cafferkey fell ill and soon afterwards became the first Briton to be diagnosed with Ebola on UK soil.
Colleagues who volunteered with her believe she may have contracted the deadly disease after attending a church service without wearing her hazard suit on Christmas morning.
Today she is in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London after being flown from Glasgow this morning surrounded by a large medical team in protective clothing.
Dr Deahl said today he 'would bet anything that she caught Ebola in the community', most likely on Christmas Day.
Miss Cafferkey fell ill hours after she flew back to Scotland from Africa via Heathrow, and the authorities have traced 63 of the 70 people who flew with her from London to Glasgow on Sunday.
Questions are already being asked about the Government's Ebola screening programme because the woman was vetted twice – in Sierra Leone and at Heathrow – without any symptoms being detected.
Dr Deahl said that medical staff in Sierra Leone always wore hazard suits at work but some did not when they went out into the wider community.
A number of the 30 NHS staff out in Sierra Leone, including himself, worshipped at a local church on Christmas Day.
He also said that at Freetown airport in Sierra Leone all the volunteers were 'kissing and hugging' as they left the country, including Miss Cafferkey.
All the NHS workers who flew back with Miss Cafferkey must monitor their temperature and call Public Health England every day before Midday with their readings or doctors will be sent.
Dr Deahl said: 'I would bet anything that she caught this while out in the community. I went to church myself on Christmas morning and I have no doubt Pauline probably contracted the virus doing something similar.
'We had a rule known as ABC which stood for Absolute no Body Contact but when you are in the community it is difficult to stick to the rules and easy to become complacent. It is also difficult when children come up to you and hug you.'
Dr Deahl flew back from Casablanca to London with Miss Cafferkey and said he was 'heartbroken' she has fallen ill.
But he criticised Public Health England for poor advice on when those exposed to deadly virus should travel.
He said: 'I was sitting next to her on the plane when we flew back on Sunday night and she seemed fine. I am absolutely fine. I am just so shocked and heartbroken to hear that anyone from our team is ill'.
This morning she was moved to the Royal Free Hospital in London after being loaded onto a military aircraft in a cocoon by medical staff in protective suits at Glasgow Airport.
There are also fears for passengers and staff who had close contact with the nurse, who flew from Freetown to London via Morocco before reaching Scotland late on Sunday night.
Officials are urgently trying to trace 71 people on her British Airways BA1478 flight from London to Glasgow.
They will also be contacting passengers who were sitting near her on her other flights back to the UK via Casablanca – Royal Air Maroc flights AT596 and AT0800.
Special care: After being put on a cocooned bed Miss Cafferkey was loaded on to the jet, which took off this morning and landed at RAF Northolt near Heathrow
Arrival: The military aircraft landed at RAF Northolt and she was then moved into an RAF ambulance, which was given a police escort to the Royal Free Hospital in London today
Care: The unnamed woman was initially taken to Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital but was moved to the Royal Free Hospital in London
This morning Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Miss Cafferkey was 'doing as well as can be expected in the circumstances'.
Ms Sturgeon said Health Protection Scotland is making 'very good progress' with contacting passengers on the British Airways flight from Heathrow to Glasgow.
EBOLA PATIENT'S ROUTE TO GLASGOW FROM SIERRA LEONE
December 28, 2.30am: Health worker takes off on Royal Air Maroc flight AT596 from Freetown, Sierra Leone.
6.10am: Flight lands at Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca, Morocco.
12.20pm: She then boards Royal Air Maroc flight AT0800 from Casablanca to Heathrow.
3.50pm: Flight lands at Heathrow Terminal 4.
After 4pm: Health worker is bussed to Heathrow Terminal 5 alongside passengers from other flights.
9.10pm: She takes off from Terminal 5 on BA flight BA1478.
11:30pm: Flight lands at Glasgow Airport and she travels home.
December 29, 7:50am: Patient arrives by ambulance at Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital after feeling unwell and is placed in isolation.
She said: 'After the passenger list was received last night, there were 70 people that required to be traced.
'As of this time, 63 of them have been contacted and either spoken to directly or have had messages left for them, so some contact has been made with 63 out of the 70.'
She also said a second health worker is being tested for Ebola in Scotland after returning from West Africa, but said there was a 'low probability' they have the disease.
It also emerged this morning that another patient is being tested for Ebola after being admitted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro last night and is being kept in isolation for 24 hours while they wait for the results.
Public Health England today explained its policy on health workers returning to the UK.
A spokesman said: 'The Scottish patient was on the returning worker scheme and was screened at Heathrow Airport on arrival, in line with standard procedures. At this point they were assessed as per protocol and cleared to travel home. This process was overseen by a medical consultant.
'Naturally, we are keen to learn whatever we can from the emerging details of this case and will be reviewing what happened and the screening protocols, to see if anything needs to be changed.'
Hours after she arrived home Miss Cafferkey alerted the authorities and said she feared she had Ebola and was taken to a Glasgow hospital by special ambulance, immediately isolated and diagnosed with the virus.
New tests: The second Scottish patient who is being tested, pictured in orange, had been staying at a youth hostel in the Highlands and has also returned from West Africa
Precautions: The woman was met by a team of medics in protective suits and transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Convoy: The unnamed woman, taken to Aberdeen by police and paramedics, is said to have only a very small chance of having Ebola
Experts said early symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle pain and sore throat develop suddenly. A person is only infectious at the point at which they begin to show symptoms.
Previous victim: Mr Pooley was flown home from Sierra Leone in August after contracting ebola
At the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, the health worker was admitted through a specially-assigned hospital entrance, before being taken to the high-level isolation unit – the only ward in the UK equipped to cope with Ebola.
It is the same isolation unit that nursed William Pooley back to health after he contracted Ebola in August.
Paul Cosford, medical director for Public Health England, told Sky News the woman was 'very brave'.
He said: 'She is a very brave person who was fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. She is en route to Royal Free where she will receive the best possible treatment for her disease.'
He added that the woman was admitted to hospital in the early hours of the morning, shortly after arriving home from Sierra Leone the previous evening, and she had not exhibited any severe symptoms of the disease, meaning there was a low risk of transmission to other passengers.
'The most important thing to remember about Ebola is it is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids - diarrhoea, blood or vomit.
'She only had a fever and when people have a fever they do not transmit the virus. We believe the risk to the public is low.'
It is understood the second Scottish patient who is being tested had been staying at a youth hostel in the Highlands.
Ms Sturgeon told BBC Scotland: 'I should stress that, although this is another returning healthcare worker from West Africa, the patient here, as far as we are aware, has had no direct contact with people infected with Ebola, so it is a case that is being described as low probability.
'But we are operating, given the seriousness of Ebola, on a highly precautionary basis and that's why this patient will be transferred for tests.'
Treatment: The nurse has been transferred to the specialist high-level isolation wing of London's Royal Free Hospital.
Care: This is the high-level isolation unit in London where the woman will be treated in the coming days and weeks
Around 100 have been tested for Ebola in hospitals across England this year so far.
Last night the authorities moved to reassure the public the risk of infection was negligible and that the UK was prepared for the disease.
Professor Jonathan Ball, an expert in molecular virology at Nottingham University, said the case showed airport checks are unable to spot Ebola.
He said this was because symptoms such as a high temperature can take up to three weeks to develop.
'When [screening] was introduced it was more a measure of reassurance rather than something that actually worked,' he said.
'Because the incubation period for Ebola is up to 21 days, it's impossible to detect as you don't show symptoms.'
In October, ministers were accused of a chaotic response to the Ebola crisis when it emerged screening measures amounted to little more than a questionnaire.
The tests involve assessing passengers' recent travel history and who they have been in contact with, as well as a possible medical assessment.
Passengers who have come from Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea are put in a separate queue at customs.
In a holding area, they are asked how they are feeling, whether they have been in contact with Ebola victims and if they have touched bush meat. If the medical staff are concerned, they start a full assessment.
But they stop short of screening passengers with thermal guns to pick out those with an elevated temperature, a procedure adopted in the US.
It is understood the nurse had close contact with one other person following her journey. Officials would not confirm whether this was her partner or a relative. Anyone thought to be at risk is expected to be monitored by the authorities.
Another British nurse, William Pooley, was flown home from Sierra Leone in August after contracting ebola at a treatment clinic. He recovered and has returned to West Africa to continue his mission.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee, while Downing Street said David Cameron had spoken to Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and made clear the Government would help in any way possible.
Miss Cafferkey is thought to have been in west Africa for around five weeks and left Sierra Leone on Sunday.
Last night the Scottish government said 'all possible contacts with the patient' were being investigated.
The nurse's condition was last night described as clinically stable and health officials said her prognosis was good as the illness had been caught early.
The chief medical officer, Sally Davies, said she expected a handful of Ebola cases in Britain in the coming months but that the NHS was very well prepared to cope with the virus which has killed more than 7,000, mainly in West Africa.
Dame Sally said: 'It is important to be reassured that although a case has been identified, the overall risk to the public continues to be low.
'We have robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases.'
A British Airways spokesman said: 'We are working closely with the health authorities in England and Scotland and will offer assistance with any information they require.
'Customers who flew from London Heathrow to Glasgow on BA1478 which departed at 2100 on Sunday, December 28, and have concerns should contact the special number 08000 858531 set up by the Scottish Government.
'The risk to people on board that individual flight is extremely low.'
More than 20,000 people in West Africa have been infected with the virus since the outbreak begun, with more than 7,000 killed.
WHAT TREATMENTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR EBOLA PATIENTS?
There are currently no specific drugs to cure Ebola, nor any approved vaccines to prevent the disease.
Two experimental vaccines are currently being trialled on human volunteers in the UK, US, Mali and Uganda.
Experts expect to see the first results of those trials early next year.
Ms Cafferkey who has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital in London will receive supportive care.
The Royal Free Hospital is the only High Level Isolation Unit in the UK to house two high-security containment beds.
They are located inside isolation 'bubbles' - specially-designed tents with controlled ventilation allowing medics to provide clinical care while containing the infection.
Three other hospitals - The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne Royal Victoria Infirmary and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals - are designated centres for escalation if more patients are diagnosed with Ebola.
There are around 50 other designated Ebola beds at these three centres.
Medics will work to re hydrate Ms Cafferkey using oral and intravenous fluids.
Specific symptoms such as diarrohea and fever will be treated directly, to try and improve her chances of surviving.
William Pooley, the British nurse who survived Ebola, was treated with the experimental drug ZMapp.
It is a blend of three laboratory-made antibodies designed to neutralise the virus.
Two US aid workers, Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol were also given the drug after they were infected with the virus while working in Liberia. They too, subsequently recovered.
But experts do not know if those given the drug were saved by it, or whether luck played a part.
Around 45 per cent of those infected in the current outbreak have survived without treatment.
Meanwhile at least two other patients treated with ZMapp have died, possibly because help got to them too late.
ZMapp, developed by US biotech company Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc, is manufactured in the leaves of genetically modified tobacco plants.
The process could yield 20 to 40 doses a month.
Evidence suggests that effective treatment with ZMapp requires three doses of 15 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
In September, shortly after being discharged from the Royal Free, Mr Pooley, travelled to the US to undergo a blood transfusion to help an American colleague who was being treated for the virus.
It is thought the blood of those who have survived the disease may contain antibodies, which can prove effective in fighting the disease.
EBOLA NURSE WROTE DIARY ABOUT SAVING LIVES IN SIERRA LEONE
Pauline Cafferkey wrote a moving diary of her time working as a volunteer with Save the Children helping Ebola victims in Sierra Leone.
She left with 30 other NHS staff in November who all worked at various hospitals in west Africa.
She told how from the moment she stepped off the plane, the smell of chlorine hit her and a thermometer was pointed at her head.
Also she described the 'horrendous' suit she had to wear while treating patients.
She wrote in the Scotsman: 'The PPE [personal protective equipment] alien-type suit that I have to wear when going into the positive Red Zone is horrendous. It takes about 20 minutes to dress and 15 minutes to take the suit off at the other end. They would be beneficial on a cold winter's night in Scotland, but working in them in 30-degree heat is uncomfortable to say the least.
'I feel very well protected. I was unaware that I could sweat so much. When I get to the decontamination area and remove the suit and gloves, there are pools of sweat dripping from me and not a dry hair on my head.
'I feel sorry for the poor patients who have these alien-type people caring for them. Especially so for the young children, who are not only very sick but have these strange creatures with only their eyes visible trying to make them drink and take medications.'
Read more: British Ebola victim Pauline Cafferkey pictured | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Last edited:
Headlines
How Ebola Changed a Doctor's Eye from Blue to Green
......................................................................................................................................................
4:36 PM EDT, May 8, 2015
How did a normal blue eye change color to green overnight?
The answer is shocking: Ebola did it.
It happened to a hero American doctor who thought he was cured.
The man with the new green eye is Dr. Ian Crozier. He was diagnosed with Ebola last September in Sierra Leone, but was pronounced cured when he was treated at Emory University's special Ebola unit in Atlanta.
Dr. Crozier described fighting for his life in a lecture, "Lung failure, kidney failure, brain failure."
No Ebola virus was detected in his blood. Everyone thought he was cured. But then came the shock of his life. Just two months after being given a clean bill of health, he developed inflammation in his left eye and began experiencing severe vision problems.
One morning he woke up to discover his blue eye had changed color to green. Not only that, his pupil was also dilated over twice its size. A test revealed his eye was teeming with Ebola virus.
ABC Chief Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser said the news may change the way we think about Ebola: "When I read this report, wow, this is something I never thought would've happened. We never had a chance to see what happens when someone has Ebola and recovers. Do they get rid of the virus, or can it hang out?"
It turns out that a number of other Ebola survivors continue to suffer severe after-effects.
INSIDE EDITION's Steven Fabian spoke to NBC cameraman Ashoka Mukpo, who contracted Ebola when he was working with medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman.
"I've never heard of someone's eye color changing but it's a very vicious disease so I'm sure there are a lot of problems that are unforeseeable and these are the things people are learning now that there is a much wider pool of survivors," Mukpo explained.
Brave nurse Nina Pham, who was greeted by President Obama after her recovery from Ebola, also says there is an untold story about Ebola survivors like herself.
She said she still suffers from liver damage, severe pain and hair loss.
Now the alarming news that Ebola can live on in the eye.
"Could other people who survived Ebola develop the same kind of eye problem? How do you treat this, how do you look for it? These are all unanswered questions," Besser told INSIDE EDITION.
Chromeless_Video_Player
How Ebola Changed a Doctor's Eye from Blue to Green - Inside Edition
How Ebola Changed a Doctor's Eye from Blue to Green
......................................................................................................................................................
4:36 PM EDT, May 8, 2015
How did a normal blue eye change color to green overnight?
The answer is shocking: Ebola did it.
It happened to a hero American doctor who thought he was cured.
The man with the new green eye is Dr. Ian Crozier. He was diagnosed with Ebola last September in Sierra Leone, but was pronounced cured when he was treated at Emory University's special Ebola unit in Atlanta.
Dr. Crozier described fighting for his life in a lecture, "Lung failure, kidney failure, brain failure."
No Ebola virus was detected in his blood. Everyone thought he was cured. But then came the shock of his life. Just two months after being given a clean bill of health, he developed inflammation in his left eye and began experiencing severe vision problems.
One morning he woke up to discover his blue eye had changed color to green. Not only that, his pupil was also dilated over twice its size. A test revealed his eye was teeming with Ebola virus.
ABC Chief Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser said the news may change the way we think about Ebola: "When I read this report, wow, this is something I never thought would've happened. We never had a chance to see what happens when someone has Ebola and recovers. Do they get rid of the virus, or can it hang out?"
It turns out that a number of other Ebola survivors continue to suffer severe after-effects.
INSIDE EDITION's Steven Fabian spoke to NBC cameraman Ashoka Mukpo, who contracted Ebola when he was working with medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman.
"I've never heard of someone's eye color changing but it's a very vicious disease so I'm sure there are a lot of problems that are unforeseeable and these are the things people are learning now that there is a much wider pool of survivors," Mukpo explained.
Brave nurse Nina Pham, who was greeted by President Obama after her recovery from Ebola, also says there is an untold story about Ebola survivors like herself.
She said she still suffers from liver damage, severe pain and hair loss.
Now the alarming news that Ebola can live on in the eye.
"Could other people who survived Ebola develop the same kind of eye problem? How do you treat this, how do you look for it? These are all unanswered questions," Besser told INSIDE EDITION.
Chromeless_Video_Player
How Ebola Changed a Doctor's Eye from Blue to Green - Inside Edition
Ellen Mauro @EMauroCBC A British nurse believed to have made a full recovery from Ebola earlier this year now in critical condition with the virus #CBC
fun times
A British nurse believed to have made a full recovery from Ebola earlier this year now in critical condition with the virus #CBC
fun times
some major yikes factor here.
The Ebola virus can lie dormant for longs periods in its host.
But I bet more people die of flu every year than die of Ebola.