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---
title: Nurse Who Had Ebola Readmitted Into Isolation Unit
description: Authorities say the risk of contagion is very low
canonical: https://time.com/4067694/ebola-scottish-nurse-pauline-cafferkey-isolation-unit/
author: Rishi Iyengar
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article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2015-10-09T09:15:24.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:51.267Z
article:section: Health
og:title: Scottish Nurse Who Had Ebola Placed Back in Isolation Unit
og:description: Authorities say she is probably not contagious.
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og:image:alt: Pauline Cafferkey Ebola patient back in isolation
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twitter:title: Scottish Nurse Who Had Ebola Placed Back in Isolation Unit
twitter:description: Authorities say she is probably not contagious.
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ccc14dd8d91662f/6988679a8e06014bd8462c78/h_52298322.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Scottish Nurse Who Had Ebola Returns to Isolation Unit Due to 'Late Complication'

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XfeUoCr9.m3u8" -->
## Video: Watch One Man’s Story of Surviving Ebola

[Watch (HLS stream): Watch One Man’s Story of Surviving Ebola](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XfeUoCr9.m3u8) (1:32)

![Watch One Man’s Story of Surviving Ebola](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/XfeUoCr9/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2014-10-03. Watch One Man’s Story of Surviving Ebola_


by 

[Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/)


## Rishi Iyengar


Oct 9, 2015 9:15 AM UTC

![Pauline Cafferkey Ebola patient back in isolation](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ccc14dd8d91662f/6988679a8e06014bd8462c78/h_52298322.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

A handout picture shows Scottish healthcare worker Pauline Cafferkey at the Royal Free Hospital in London, England, 24 January 2015.

A handout picture shows Scottish healthcare worker Pauline Cafferkey at the Royal Free Hospital in London, England, 24 January 2015. LISA FERGUSON —EPA

by 

[Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/)


## Rishi Iyengar


Oct 9, 2015 9:15 AM UTC

A Scottish nurse previously diagnosed with Ebola while working in Sierra Leone was [placed in isolation](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-34483584) in London Friday morning after suffering an “unusual late complication” from the disease.

The National Health Service branch of Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) confirmed that Pauline Cafferkey does have the Ebola virus in her system but said it was a remnant of her earlier infection, the BBC reported.

Cafferkey, who was transferred to the Royal Free Hospital in London early on Friday after being admitted to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for an illness on Tuesday, is most likely not contagious, according to medical staff.

“Pauline’s condition is a complication of a previous infection with the Ebola virus,” Emilia Crighton, the NHSGGC director of public health, told the BBC, adding that the risk to the public is very low.

“In line with normal procedures in cases such as this, we have identified a small number of close contacts of Pauline’s that we will be following up as a precaution,” she said.

More than 11,000 people died over the past year from the disease. Last week marked the first without any new reported cases of the virus since March 2014.

\[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-34483584)\]


## Transcript

[ MUSIC ] I saw decent people losing their life to Ebola. [ MUSIC ] I work overtime. I work in the day. I work in the night. People will call me. Me. I have to be there, I have to take them to the center and today because of that a lot of them have their life back. When I went in he was lying in a pool of vomit. I picked him up. he kept vomiting so maybe it through that, mistakenly it seeped through somewhere in my PPEs and. I didn't, I didn't really care because I did not want him to lost his life, so when I checked him for what was happening my only concern was to drive him to the center that he, he received treatment.

Day after then, I fell sick [ MUSIC ] I don't regret anything. Even if I lose my life in the process, I don't regret it. It's what God wanted to happen. I'm gonna go back and do my job. I wanna help save a lot of lives. Our people are dying. Everybody can't see a way. Now that I have built an immunity to Ebola, I'm gonna go in with full swing. [ MUSIC ]

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