British nurse who survived ebola given all-clear

British ebola survivor William Pooley told how he feared for his life after catching the deadly virus.

The volunteer nurse, 29, has been given the all-clear and discharged from a London hospital, having received the experimental drug ZMapp to combat the disease he contracted in Sierra Leone.

He praised the “world-class” treatment he was given after being evacuated back to England.

Pooley, from Suffolk, was flown home by the RAF and cared for in a special unit at the Royal Free Hospital.

He told how he had been woken by a doctor in a full protective suit after blood tests proved he had ebola while working in west Africa.

He said: “I was worried I was going to die. I was worried about my family, I was scared.”

He said the worst thing had been telling his parents he had ebola, adding: “No one wants to upset their parents in that way.”

He said he had no regrets about going to an area where the epidemic was rife but said he had no plans for the future at the moment. He joked: “They incinerated my passport so my mum will be pleased to know I cannot go anywhere at the moment.”

Pooley is heading home to Eyke in East Anglia, where his parents Robin and Jackie live, to recuperate, he said. He said he was “wonderfully lucky” to have survived a disease that had killed more than 2,000 people in Africa.

Infectious diseases consultant Dr Michael Jacobs, who treated Pooley, said: “The virus is clear from the body and there is no risk to the wider community in any way.”

The disease victim told how he had undergone blood tests after feeling ill in Sierra Leone.

He said he went to sleep feeling sick and was woken by a World Health Organisation doctor wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) after the tests came back positive.

“He was in PPE so I knew it was bad news.

“It was a bit disturbing to get that diagnosis but I had been half expecting it because I had been feeling sick.”

He said it was not clear whether the ZMapp drug was responsible for his recovery but he was “hugely grateful” to everyone involved in getting it for him.

Two US doctors given the drug after they were infected with ebola while working in Liberia subsequently recovered. But it is not known whether they were saved by the drug or were just lucky. Figures show that 47% of those infected in the current outbreak have survived.