The Scottish nurse affected a second time by Ebola is doing much better. She contracted meningitis triggered by the reactivation of the virus in her body.
Pauline Cafferkey is better. The Scottish nurse, who had been readmitted to the Royal Free Hospital in London earlier this month, was receiving treatment for the second time to stop the progression of the Ebola virus. This Wednesday, her doctors also made a surprise announcement : Pauline Cafferkey would also be under treatment to fight against viral meningitis caused by Ebola. This meningitis explains the sudden deterioration of his condition last week.
The Ebola virus had reactivated two weeks ago in this 39-year-old woman, who had been a volunteer in Sierra Leone in 2014. Admitted last December to the isolation unit of the Royal Free Hospital, she nevertheless had was declared cured by doctors in January.
A long recovery
Contacted by WhyDoctor, the hospital confirms that the nurse is no longer in critical condition, but that she still has a long recovery ahead of her. According to the medical team, which includes an Ebola specialist from the WHO, remnants of the original virus would have remained in the brain and spinal cord of Pauline Cafferkey, following her first recovery. This virus would have caused meningitis, and particularly serious neurological complications.
In African countries affected by the virus, cases of meningitis had already been reported at the peak of the epidemic. On the other hand, doctors at the Royal Free Hospital point out that it is impossible to say whether cases of meningitis have already been diagnosed in Ebola survivors in these countries, insofar as medical resources are not sufficient to ensure a extensive follow-up of former patients.
In the case of Pauline Cafferkey, the improvement in her condition would be linked to an experimental drug, in the first phase of development, called GS5734. The first results of this new treatment are encouraging, but the doctors reaffirmed that they did not want to declare victory too soon, especially since they were widely criticized for having declared the nurse cured the first time.
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