The first Briton
known to have caught the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa was discharged from
hospital today and joked he won't be going back because his passport has been
incinerated.
William Pooley, 29, a
volunteer nurse, was flown back to the UK for treatment on August 24 after
contracting the virus in Sierra Leone.
He was then rushed
across London to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead Heath where he was put in
an isolation ward and treated with the experimental drug ZMapp.
Asked whether he
would be returning to Africa, he said he currently had no plans to do so,
adding: 'They incinerated my passport so my mum will be pleased to know I cannot
go anywhere at the moment.'
Despite the grave
dangers, Mr Pooley had selflessly volunteered to serve in a makeshift clinic
where other nurses had died from ebola or were too scared to come into
work.
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Ebola sufferer William Pooley, who comes from the small
village of Eyke in Suffolk, has been discharged from the Royal Free Hospital in
London
Discharged: Mr Pooley, who comes from the small village of
Eyke in Suffolk, was airlifted back to Britain in a specially equipped C17 RAF
aircraft
William Pooley, a volunteer nurse, was being cared for at
a special unit at the Royal Free Hospital
Speaking today he
described being in the isolation unit as 'like being in a fishtank' and said it
was so busy in hospital he 'didn't have much time to ponder the full potential
of the illness'.
Mr Pooley also
praised the 'world-class care' he had received at the hospital and thanked the
Government and RAF for getting him home so quickly.
He said he had feared
for his life after being diagnosed with the virus and woken by doctors in
protective clothing.
'I was worried I was
going to die,' Mr Pooley said.
He said: 'I was very
lucky in several ways, firstly in the standard of care that I received, which is
a world apart from what people are receiving in west Africa, despite various
organisations' best efforts.
'I had amazing care,
which was one difference. The other difference is that my symptoms never
progressed to the worst stage of the disease - people I have seen dying horrible
deaths.
William Pooley arrives home in Eyke, Suffolk after being
discharged from the isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in
London
William Pooley in his blue scrubs (centre) working in
Freetown, Sierra Leone, before he caught ebola virus
Victim: Volunteer William Pooley is believed to have
contracted virus from one-year-old boy
Africa is facing the worst epidemic since the disease was
first identified 38 years ago
'I had some
unpleasant symptoms but nothing compared to some of the worst of the disease,
especially when people are dying.'
He did not even
vomit, he said, but had suffered high temperatures and some stomach
problems.
Mr Pooley said he had
no regrets about his decision to go to help people stricken with the deadly
virus in west Africa, which is in the middle of a horrific epidemic that has
killed more than 2,000 people.
He said: 'I have
mixed memories, some great memories and some horrible memories - lots of people
dying.
'But also some
wonderful memories of people going home, people showing massive spirit and
cheer, despite the horrible conditions, the truly heroic people that I worked
with, people that went on to get sick, so it is a massive mix of
memories.'
Mr Pooley said he had
undergone blood tests after feeling ill in Sierra Leone.
He told how he went
to bed feeling sick and was woken by a World Health Organisation doctor in
personal protective equipment (PPE) - a protective suit - after the tests came
back positive.
'He was in PPE so I
knew it was bad news,' Mr Pooley said.
'It was a bit
disturbing to get that diagnosis but I had been half expecting it because I had
been feeling sick.'
He added: 'I was
worried about my family, I was scared.'
Mr Pooley said coming
out of the isolation tent at the hospital had been a 'special
moment'.
He said he would be
heading home to East Anglia to recuperate with friends and family after being
discharged.
Infectious diseases
consultant Dr Michael Jacobs, who treated Mr Pooley, said he posed no contagion
risk to members of the public.
He was being cared
for at a special unit at the Royal Free but today the hospital announced he was
discharged.
The drug he was
given, ZMapp, was first given last month to two US aid workers, who were flown
home for treatment from Liberia.
Mr Pooley, who comes
from the small village of Eyke in Suffolk, was airlifted back to Britain in a
specially equipped C17 RAF aircraft.
The hospital said in
a statement: 'Following 10 days of successful treatment in the high level
isolation unit - the only one in the UK - Mr Pooley is being discharged from the
Royal Free Hospital today.'
Close to 1,500 people
have so far died across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the worst epidemic
since the disease was first identified 38 years ago.
Mr Pooley had been
volunteering at the ebola centre in Kenema, one of the worst affected areas, for
just five weeks when he fell ill.
Previously he had
been providing palliative care to patients at the Shepherd's Hospice in Sierra
Leone's capital city, Freetown, and had been there since March.
But as the ebola
epidemic began and he heard that healthcare professionals were fleeing for fear
of catching the disease, he decided to go to Kenema.
Mr Pooley is the only
Briton to be have ever been infected by ebola outside the laboratory. The only
other British case was in 1976, when scientist Geoffrey Platt pricked himself
with a needle contaminated with the virus.
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
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