A nurse confined at a London hospital is currently fighting for her life against the deadly Ebola virus. Nurse Pauline Cafferkey was diagnosed with Ebola after returning home from Sierra Leone. Recent developments however show that there might be a bigger change for Cafferkey to survive if she will be injected with plasma from other patients who survived the dreaded virus.
Doctors said that the plasma will contain antibodies to help the patient's body fight the Ebola infection. Another British nurse has already volunteered to donate the plasma. Nurse William Pooley was previously diagnosed with Ebola but managed to survive the infection after taking antiviral drugs. Unfortunately for nurse Cafferkey, the antiviral drug ZMapp used to treat Ebola is currently out of stock. Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies has already confirmed that William Pooley will be the one to donate the plasma needed for the treatment.
Nurse Pooley only recovered from Ebola last Sept. He was treated at the Royal Free Hospital located in Hampstead, the same hospital where Nurse Cafferkey is currently treated. Doctors claim that blood of those who have survived Ebola can help others who are currently treated with the same disease. Right now the main treatments used to Nurse Cafferkey are fuilds and electrolyte according to Dame Sally.
Nurse Cafferkey got infected with Ebola after she went to Sierra Leone for a charity work for Save the Children Foundation. The foundation nurse Cafferkey wolunteered for already issued an official statement saying: "We have and strict protocols in place to protect our staff. Save the Children also asks staff to be careful outside of the treatment center where exposure to risks can be less obvious" Nurse Cafferley showed signs of Ebola infections after returning to Glasgow and was immediately quarantined to avoid further contamination.
Dame Sally has confirmed that nurse Cafferkey's case is still in the early phase and there is very low risk of infecting others. She also added that they have already presented the plasma treatment to the patient and it is up to her to choose what treatment she wants.