Save the Children has launched a special investigation into how a British nurse contracted the Ebola virus while working for the charity in Sierra Leone, promising to "leave no stone unturned" in attempting to identify the source of the infection.
Pauline Cafferkey is in a critical condition and being treated in a specialist isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in north London. Yesterday, hospital officials said that the nurse's health was continuing to deteriorate despite her receiving an experimental anti-viral drug and blood serum.
The charity's Sierra Leone director, Rob MacGillavray, told the BBC that the investigation would go beyond a standard case review and scrutinise how protective equipment was used, as well as looking at person-to-person contact outside of the hospital where she worked.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Because of this very serious event we have put in an extraordinary review to ensure that we do everything, leave no stone unturned, to be able to as far as possible identify the source of this infection," he said.
The 39-year old was working alongside a team of British healthcare workers treating infected patients in Sierra Leone's Kerry Town when she contracted Ebola.
She was first diagnosed after returning to Glasgow a week ago, via Morocco and London's Heathrow airport. She was screened for signs of the virus in London, but despite complaining that she felt she was developing a fever, she was allowed to continue her journey to Scotland after several negative tests.
Cafferkey is the first person to have been diagnosed with the disease in the UK, and the second Briton to be treated for Ebola. Nurse William Pooley made a full recovery from the illness last year after receiving the experimental zMapp drug. However, supplies of the drug have now run out.
Her case has raised concerns about Ebola screening at airports, which many argue is ineffective, and has led to calls to impose controversial quarantines for returning healthcare workers.
David Cameron has said he would consider implementing them but the Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, is believed to be "unconvinced" by such measures, according to the Daily Telegraph. Some fear that quarantines will deter British healthcare workers from volunteering in West Africa , where assistance is still desperately required.
The disease continues to spread in the region, with the World Health Organization recently reporting more than 20,000 cases of the virus and almost 8,000 deaths, mainly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, since the outbreak began.
-
Could U.S. Tomahawk missiles help Ukraine end the war?Today's Big Question Or is Trump bluffing?
-
Political cartoons for October 17Cartoons Friday's editorial cartoons include Tomahawk missile talk, the price of red meat, and the bestest boy reports from the Pentagon press room
-
The ‘swag gap’: are you better than your partner?In The Spotlight The viral terminology sheds light on power dynamics in modern relationships
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
