Weekly News

How Pauline Cafferkey's Ebola relapse tears up everything doctors thought they knew

This article caught my attention because Ebola was a massive, worldwide issue just a few months back, therefore I'm sure it caught many other people's attention too.

Pauline Cafferkey is a nurse that suffered from Ebola 9 months ago, she was admitted back into the infectious disease unit on the 9th of October. This was clearly a shock to doctors as Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology, said "but I don't think anybody would for one minute have expected complications quite as serious as they certainly appear." This suggests that doctors and researchers of the Ebola virus didn't look deeply into the effect that it might have on someone, after they have recovered from it. However they now know that "while their bloodstream, their saliva and organs such as the liver are free of the Ebola virus, there are immuno-privileged pockets where it can hide out." These are parts of the body that the immune system cannot protect from the virus, for example, it was recently found in the fluid that is inside of the eye. "The genital tract is another immuno-privileged site", this means that Ebola can actually be sexually transmitted, although this is rare. Scientists are concerned that the virus could lead to recurrence of outbreaks.

The hospital that Pauline works in is identifying the people whom she's had recent contact with, to stop the virus from spreading. Doctors will also be more attentive of the long-term issues that might happen to survivors of Ebola.

This article is very informative, and it's successful because even though it informs people of an issue that they could possibly get worried about, it reassures them that doctors now know what they're doing and will be able to detect any future problems to do with Ebola right away.