The British nurse from Scotland who has been recently diagnosed with Ebola is in critical condition, according to her doctors during an announcement on Saturday, December 3.
The condition of Pauline Cafferkey deteriorated over the past two days, despite the first reports that said she was stable. In previous days, doctors cited her ability to eat and communicate with her loved ones. Aside from informing of her recent condition, not more details have been revealed including how critical she is.
She is supposed to receive an experimental drug, the name of which remains undisclosed. Another British nurse infected with Ebola and treated in London received ZMapp, the same drug used in the first two doctors in the United States. Cafferkey cannot use it for now since there's a shortage of it.
One of the communicable disease experts in London David Mabey mentioned in an interview that people react differently to the virus and treatment. For example, Pooley was not nearly as sick as she is and made a full recovery only after a few days. He also added that the first 5 days are often the most critical for an Ebola patient.
Cafferkey is one of the 50 health workers that volunteered under National Health Service for Save the Children. She worked for a number of weeks in Sierra Leone, a region in West Africa that registered one of the highest Ebola cases and deaths ever since the outbreak began in early 2014.
She was officially diagnosed with the virus a day after she arrived in Glasgow, Scotland. Reporting a fever, she was immediately brought to one of the country's hospitals before airlifted to Royal Free Hospital where she is isolated and being treated in the specialty unit.
Cafferkey is the first person and health worker to be diagnosed of the virus in the United Kingdom. Her case sparks debates on the effectiveness of airport screenings especially since she flew a few times prior to her arrival in Glasgow. It's reported that she underwent 7 temperature checks, all except 1 taken about half an hour apart, while in Heathrow after she reported feeling fever. All came back normal.