British nurse who survived Ebola back in country where he caught the deadly virus

The British nurse who survived Ebola has returned to the country where he caught the deadly virus.

William Pooley said he was 'delighted' to help other British medics in Sierra Leone in a bid to prevent 'as many unnecessary deaths as possible'.

The 29-year-old, who was treated with an experimental drug out of most victims' reach, flew out tonight despite uncertainty over whether he is immune to the disease.

Although it is widely assumed the same person cannot develop Ebola twice, that has never been proven conclusively by scientists.

The scale of the current epidemic - with already 16 times more deaths than the previous most fatal outbreak in 1976 - could provide the first test to that theory.

The Suffolk-born nurse will arrive in Sierra Leone, where 932 people have died of Ebola, and resume work tomorrow in an isolation unit run at Freetown's Connaught Hospital by British medics.

He had to wait until the government replaced his passport - because his previous one was incinerated along with the rest of his belongings.

'I would like to once again thank the team at the Royal Free Hospital and the RAF who provided me with such excellent treatment and support,' he said in a statement.

'But the real emergency is in West Africa, and the teams out there need all the support we can give them.

'I am now looking forward to getting back out there and doing all I can to prevent as many unnecessary deaths as possible.'

He will join staff from King’s Health Partners team, a partnership between King’s College London and three NHS trusts - Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley.

Mr Pooley became the first confirmed Briton to contract Ebola and was flown home in August to be treated in a specially-adapted unit at the Royal Free Hospital, north London.

He was treated with the experimental drug ZMapp, supplies of which have been extremely limited.

After he was given the all-clear the nurse agreed to donate his blood plasma, which contains antibodies vital to combating the disease, in a bid to develop treatment for victims.

Dr Oliver Johnson, programme director for the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership, said: 'It is fantastic that Will has chosen to join our small team here at Connaught Hospital.

'The situation here in Freetown is getting worse by the day and so Will’s experience and commitment will be vital as we do everything we can to stem the flow of cases.

'The best way of stopping Ebola spreading even further is to fight it at its source and I look forward to working with Will to do just that.'

Earlier this week Mr Pooley said he was preparing to return to West Africa to help deal with the Ebola epidemic because it is 'something I need to do'.

Speaking in Whitehall in central London, he said he knew his family and friends would be worried but they should be reassured by his potential immunity to the virus.

'There is still a lot of work to do out there and I am in the same or better position than when I chose to go out before,' Mr Pooley said.

'I know my mum and dad are worried but they support me because they know this is something I have to do.

'My potential immunity is very reassuring for them, or at least it should be, and I will be returning in a more organised fashion than when I was out there originally.'

More than 4,500 people have died from Ebola, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Britain’s latest Ebola aid flight carrying vital medical supplies landed in Freetown yesterday, International Development Secretary Justine Greening said.

It was the UK’s sixth aid flight and carried almost £900,000 worth of medical equipment needed for the 92 bed treatment facility in Kerry Town, including blood banks, centrifuges and protective equipment such as goggles and gloves.

On Friday a British hospital ship with 100 beds set sail for Sierra Leone from Falmouth, Cornwall, after the crew spent a week loading medical supplies.

The 574ft RFA Argus, which has a full emergency department, resuscitation and surgical facilities, a radiology suite with a CT scanner, a critical care unit, a high dependency unit and a 70-bed general ward, will be joined by 750 servicemen and three Merlin helicopters.