“I was very lucky”: British Ebola patient beats virus, discharged from hospital

by Isi Esene

William Pooley, the first British person to contract the deadly Ebola Virus in West Africa has been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery.

The 29-year-old volunteer was stationed in Sierra Leone, one of the most affected countries on the continent, when he contracted the disease.

He is, however, not sure how he got infected.

Mr. Pooley was flown to the United Kingdom on August 24 where he was treated at the Royal Free Hospital.

Around half of the 3,000 people infected in the outbreak, which started in Guinea, have died.

Mr. Pooley recalls how he was diagnosed of the virus: “I was woken early that evening by one of the WHO doctors and immediately I knew it was bad news, it’s a bit disturbing to get that diagnosis.

“I was worried that I was going to die, I was worried about my family and I was scared.”

He noted the difference in the standard of care given to Ebola victims in Africa and the United Kingdom saying, “I was very lucky in several ways; firstly in the standard of care I received, which is a world apart from what people are receiving in West Africa at the moment.

“And my symptoms never progressed to the worst stage of the disease, I’ve seen people dying horrible deaths, I had some unpleasant symptoms, but nothing compared to the worst of the disease.”

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