British Ebola nurse now ‘critically ill’

A British nurse who was successfully treated in January after contracting Ebola in Sierra Leone is now "critically ill" due to a resurgence of the virus, the hospital treating her said Wednesday.

 It is thought that Pauline Cafferkey, 39, could be only the second recorded case of "reactivated" Ebola after American doctor Ian Crozier.

 Just two weeks ago, Cafferkey was at Downing Street meeting Prime Minister David Cameron's wife Samantha and receiving a bravery award.

 She reportedly visited a primary school the day before being readmitted to hospital on October 6.

 "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," the London hospital said in a statement.

 Cafferkey was first diagnosed with Ebola in December after returning to the Scottish city of Glasgow from Sierra Leone.

 She then spent almost a month in the isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital and was treated with an experimental anti-viral drug and blood from Ebola survivors before being discharged.

 But last week, she fell ill again and was treated in Glasgow before being flown by military aircraft back to the Royal Free Hospital in London.

 Her sister Toni has said doctors in Glasgow diagnosed her with a virus on Monday but sent her home.

 She has called the treatment her sister received "absolutely diabolical" but local health chiefs insist the decisions taken were "entirely appropriate".

 Health officials are monitoring 58 people who have been in close contact with Cafferkey. Forty have had direct contact with her bodily fluids -- the main mode of Ebola transmission.

 Of the 40, 25 are receiving a vaccine and a further 15 have either declined it or were unable to receive it due to existing medical conditions.