Race to find hundreds of BA passengers who came into contact with UK nurse who brought Ebola back to Britain - but why did TWO screenings fail to spot her condition?

A UK nurse who brought Ebola back to the UK is being moved from Glasgow to London this morning as the authorities hunt for hundreds who flew alongside her over Christmas.

The woman, who had been treating patients stricken by the deadly disease in Sierra Leone, fell ill only hours after returning home.

But questions are being asked about the Government's Ebola screening programme because the woman was vetted twice – in Sierra Leone and at Heathrow – without any symptoms being detected. 

It was only when she told doctors she feared she had Ebola and was taken to a Glasgow hospital by special ambulance, immediately isolated and diagnosed with the virus.

This morning she is being transferred to the Royal Free Hospital in London and was loaded onto a military aircraft in a cocoon by medical staff in protective suits. 

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Transfer: A nurse who became the first victim of the ebola outbreak to be diagnosed in the UK is loaded onto a plane at Glasgow airport to be taken for specialist treatment in London

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Care: The unnamed woman was initially taken to Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital but will now go to the Royal Free Hospital in London

It is the same isolation unit that nursed William Pooley back to health after he contracted Ebola in August. 

Last night the authorities moved to reassure the public the risk of infection was negligible and that the UK was prepared for the disease. 

Professor Jonathan Ball, an expert in molecular virology at Nottingham University, said the case showed airport checks are unable to spot Ebola.

He said this was because symptoms such as a high temperature can take up to three weeks to develop. ‘When [screening] was introduced it was more a measure of reassurance rather than something that actually worked,’ he said. ‘Because the incubation period for Ebola is up to 21 days, it’s impossible to detect as you don’t show symptoms.’

In October, ministers were accused of a chaotic response to the Ebola crisis when it emerged screening measures amounted to little more than a questionnaire. 

The tests involve assessing passengers’ recent travel history and who they have been in contact with, as well as a possible medical assessment. 

Passengers who have come from Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea are put in a separate queue at customs.

In a holding area, they are asked how they are feeling, whether they have been in contact with Ebola victims and if they have touched bush meat. If the medical staff are concerned, they start a full assessment. 

But they stop short of screening passengers with thermal guns to pick out those with an elevated temperature, a procedure adopted in the US. 

It is understood the nurse had close contact with one other person following her journey. Officials would not confirm whether this was her partner or a relative. Anyone thought to be at risk is expected to be monitored by the authorities.  

Another British nurse, William Pooley, was flown home from Sierra Leone in August after contracting ebola at a treatment clinic. He recovered and has returned to West Africa to continue his mission.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee, while Downing Street said David Cameron had spoken to Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and made clear the Government would help in any way possible.

'The Prime Minister and the first minister discussed the UK's robust and practised response procedures in place and how these were being strictly followed,' a spokesman said. 

'They agreed that both governments would remain in close touch and ensure everything possible was done to support the patient and, although the risk to the general population remained low, all measures would be taken to protect public health.'

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has separately chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee to ensure all necessary steps are being taken.

At a press conference this evening, she said: 'Given the early stage of the diagnosis, the patient was displaying no symptoms that could lead to onward transmission before she reported as being unwell.

'Passengers on both the flight from Casablanca to Heathrow and Heathrow to Glasgow are being traced and contacted. They will be given the appropriate advice and reassurance.' 

Triplets saved by operation in the womb: Surgeon separates blood supply between babies using laser after detecting they were at risk of not developing properly

Tucked up snugly side by side, these beautiful triplets look a picture of health.

But their lives were saved by a risky operation performed while they were still in the womb after they developed a rare condition which threatened to kill them all.

Thanks to the skill of surgeons who performed the delicate operation, all three girls survived the surgery and were born tiny but healthy.

Triplets Eilah, Erin and Elsie underwent a risky operation performed while they were still in the womb after they developed a rare condition which threatened to kill them all - and were born tiny but healthy

Triplets Eilah, Erin and Elsie were delivered safely in October, when they weighed 3lbs 1oz, 2lbs 12oz and 2lbs respectively.

Smallest triplet Elsie was so tiny that her parents were warned she might have to stay in hospital for several months but – to their delight – she thrived and was allowed home on Christmas Eve.

Baby Elsie (right) was finally discharged on Christmas Eve, meaning the family were able to spend their first Christmas together at home, and now weighs 5lbs although she is still smaller than her 7lb sisters

But 17 weeks into the pregnancy doctors treating Miss Slinger detected a problem with the blood supply between two of the babies.

Although all three were growing in the womb together, two of the girls Eilah and Elsie were identical twins and sharing their blood supply from the placenta.

They were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a rare condition where one twin gets too much of the blood supply, while the other twin is effectively starved of nutrients.

Smaller twin Elsie was at risk of not developing properly while her bigger sister Eilah was receiving too great a share of the blood supply, putting a strain on her developing heart.

Their parents were told the triplets’ only hope was an operation to divide the twins’ blood supply, although the operation meant all three girls were at risk.

Although the independent triplet, Erin, was not affected by the shared blood supply, her life could have been in danger if the condition led to an infection in the womb or premature labour, or if the surgery went wrong.

Although all three were in womb together, Eilah and Elsie were identical twins and shared their blood supply

Laura Slinger and partner Martyn Halliwell were thrilled when they discovered they were expecting triplets, conceived naturally without fertility treatment - they were devastated to discover the girls were at risk

Mr Halliwell, 29, a sales manager, said: ‘It was devastating when we knew all their lives were at risk and that they were literally killing each other.

‘We were worried about the operation as we knew that in itself could be fatal for the babies, but we knew we had no option if we wanted to try to save their lives.’

The specialist surgery was carried out by Dr Amar Bhide at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, South London, using a laser to separate the twins’ blood supply.

The girls’ parents then faced an anxious two-week wait to learn if the new blood supply was functioning properly.

Mr Halliwell said: ‘It was very nerve-racking but the doctors and hospital staff were wonderful and reassuring.

‘We knew the operation was risky but there were also risks afterwards. Six hours later the triplets’ hearts were all still beating which was such a relief.

‘We were so thrilled when we heard that the operation had worked and we hadn’t lost any of the girls.’

The girls were initially due to be born in January but doctors scanned Miss Slinger every week after the operation and delivered the triplets at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in October.

Their premature birth meant they were all kept in hospital for weeks and they were transferred to Burnley General Hospital to be closer to their parents’ home.

The premature babies were kept in hospital for weeks and they were transferred to Burnley General Hospital

The tricky operation was a success and the triplets are now safe and well at home with their parents

Eilah and Erin were allowed home in early December but smallest triplet Elsie had to stay on oxygen in hospital.

She was finally discharged on Christmas Eve, meaning the family were able to spend their first Christmas together at home, and now weighs 5lbs although she is still smaller than her 7lb sisters.

Mr Halliwell said: ‘They were so tiny when they were born, but they were all little fighters.

‘They’d had a battle for survival which began in the womb and they have fought all the way through. We are so proud of them.

‘Life is a bit manic now they’re all at home. Erin sleeps a lot but the twins seem to set each other off every time one of them starts to cry, but we are so happy. It’s the best possible Christmas present.’

Consultant obstetrician Dr Bhide, who performed the operation to separate the babies’ blood supply, said he was delighted all three triplets were born safely.

He said he had only carried out a handful of such operations, saying: ‘It is a rare operation in twins and even rarer in triplets as each normally have their own placenta.

‘It is a tricky operation with triplets as the extra baby and its placenta can make reaching the other two babies difficult. I’m delighted that the triplets have been born healthy and safe.’

That's a mouthful! Astonishing moment a python swallows a WALLABY whole - and he won't have to eat for another three months

The Northern Territory is renowned for throwing up some mind-boggling moments but when ranger Paul O'Neill heard birds making a racket inside the Nitmiluk National Park, he went to investigate.

And what he found was one of those double-take moments, he looked as a large python wrapped itself around and began devouring a wallaby.

The NT Parks and Wildlife ranger quickly began to document the amazing scene on camera as the snake began swallowing the marsupial. 

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Amazing images of a python wrapped around and swallowing a wallaby in the Northern Territory

The Nitmiluk gorge site is some 30 kilometres from the heart of Katherine and 310 kilometres south of Darwin.

Greg Smith, from the Territory Wildlife Park, told ABC News 'that wallaby would take about five to seven days to digest completely and the snake would go and hide for at least a month'.

'Some snakes will start looking for food even if they are overweight and have just eaten, but on average that meal would be sufficient to sustain that snake for at least three months," he said. 

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The python has all but devoured the marsupial - but park officials say it could take up to seven days before it is fully digested

Curled up for 1,000 years: Peruvian mummy found sitting in foetal position in pre-Inca burial site goes on display

More than 1,000 years ago, this 50-year-old woman was laid to rest in a ceremonial ritual in the ancient settlement of Pachacamac, near Lima, Peru.

The mummified skeleton, which was found in a vast burial site just yards from the long-abandoned civilisation’s temple, was discovered in a foetal position.

Careful not to damage the well-preserved body of the woman, archaeologists have kept her in the same state she was found in as they prepare to unveil the mummy for a French museum exhibition.

The mummy will be revealed to the public at the Musee de Confluences, in Lyon, when it opens later this month.

From a pre-Inca civilisation, the frail skeleton will form part of the new museum’s exploration of human representations of death in different ages and cultures around the world.

Pachacamac, based around 25 miles south of the Peruvian capital, was situated on the Pacific coastline.

More than 80 skeletons and mummies – including infants who appeared to have been killed for ritual reasons – were found in a spectacular 1,000-year-old tomb at the site in 2012.

Beyond these bodies, a further 70 skeletons and mummies – all in the fetal position – were lying around, most of them still wrapped up. 

The thousands who lived in the ancient town, which existed between the years 800 and 1450, followed the god Pacha Kamaq – who they believed created the first man and first woman.

The townsfolk, who built 17 pyramids, merged with the Incas as they conquered much of South America. 

The monumental site, which covers almost 600 hectares of arid land, is considered one of the most important ancient settlements in South America, widely thought to be as significant as Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines. 

The mummy as found by the Ychsma Project, directed by of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, which has held archaeological digs in Pachacamac since 1999

Ebola survivor William Pooley calls for Britons to ‘think what you can do to help global problem’ of the disease that has claimed thousands of lives already in Channel 4’s alternative Queen’s Speech

British Ebola survivor William Pooley has called for a global solution to the epidemic which has claimed more than 7,500 lives in this year’s Alternative Christmas Message.

The 29-year-old nurse from Suffolk became the first Briton to be evacuated from west Africa with the deadly disease and famously returned to work in Sierra Leone after making a full recovery.

He said Ebola is unlike any other disease he has ever witnessed and said thousands have died ‘lonely, miserable deaths’ without access to proper medical attention. 

Mr Pooley follows in the footsteps of more controversial choices Edward Snowden, Ali G, and Sharon Osbourne in delivering Channel Four’s answer to the Queen’s message to the nation.

In her speech later today, Queen Elizabeth will say she was ‘deeply touched’ by the ‘selflessness’ of medical staff and aid workers fighting the Ebola epidemic in her speech.

Speaking from the Connaught hospital in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, Mr Pooley said: ‘I don’t want to make you feel guilty, but I would like you to think just for a few minutes about what you could do to help.

‘This is a global problem and it will take the world to fix it. What a wonderful Christmas present that would be.’

He contracted the deadly virus six weeks after he began working with Ebola patients in west Africa and was airlifted back to the UK for treatment in August this year.

The nurse told how he developed symptoms six weeks after starting work in Kenema government hospital, Sierra Leone. 

‘I was tested and later that day I awoke to find a colleague standing over me in protective gear. He told me I’d been infected with Ebola.’

He said he was ‘extremely fortunate’ to be flown back to Britain for specialist treatment.

‘My colleagues worked night and day to get me flown back to Britain for the best available treatment at the Royal Free in London.

‘After I recovered I decided that I wanted to return to Sierra Leone and continue my work there as a nurse.’

Wearing blue scrubs, Mr Pooley said his exposure to the disease reinforced his belief that when people need help it’s important that it’s given.

‘Ebola is unlike any disease I’ve ever witnessed. Nothing can prepare you for the effect it has on the infected, on their families and on their communities. 

‘I realise I was incredibly lucky, lucky to be born in a wealthy country, lucky to be well-educated, lucky to have access to the best possible treatment for this awful disease.’

But he said thousands of thousands of people in west Africa have not had that luck and died ‘lonely, miserable deaths’ without access to proper medical attention.

‘If anything, Christmas should focus our minds on our kinship with people in all corners of the globe,’ he said.

‘We are all brothers and sisters. I’m sure we would all help a brother or sister in need.’

The Alternative Christmas Message is designed to be a counterpoint to the Queen’s speech, the theme of which is reconciliation.

Today the head of state will tell viewers: ‘I have been deeply touched this year by the selflessness of aid workers and medical volunteers who have gone abroad to help victims of conflict or of diseases like Ebola, often at great personal risk.’

Last year Edward Snowden, who was behind the leak of documents revealing mass surveillance programmes, said that children born today would grow up with no conception of privacy.

Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs, said Pooley’s speech is ‘a message of love and hope which inspires’.

Obama personal chef to hang up apron after 6 years

FILE - In this June 12, 2104, file photo, first lady Michelle Obama stands with Sam Kass, White House Senior Policy Adviser for Nutrition Policy, before they make salads from vegetables harvested from the White House garden with area students in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama’s personal chef is leaving after nearly six years in which, unlike any assistant White House chef before him, he cooked up policy alongside his meals. Kass held the title of senior policy adviser for nutrition policy, which gave him a seat at the table to help administration officials hash out everything from an updated “Nutrition Facts” label for processed foods to new government standards to cut the amount of fat, calories and sodium in federally subsidized school meals. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — For six years, Sam Kass cooked up policy as well as meals for President Barack Obama and his family. He was not only their personal chef but also senior adviser for nutrition policy, giving him a seat at the table where administration officials hashed out everything from updated food labels to new requirements for healthier school lunches.

Kass, a newlywed, is leaving the White House at the end of the month, but don't ask him what the Obamas like or don't like to eat. "Top secret," he said.
"I love this family and believe in everything the president and first lady are doing and this has been the greatest job of my life and I assume will be the greatest job of my life," the 34-year-old said in an interview. "But I'm going to be with my wife. Once you're married you kind of need to be together."
Kass' wife, MSNBC host Alex Wagner, is based in New York City.
Kass' relationship with the Obamas started when they hired him to cook healthier meals for the family in Chicago before the 2008 elections. Michelle Obama was a vice president at the University of Chicago Medical Center and caring for young daughters, while Obama was a U.S. senator spending most of his time in Washington.
But the relationship sprouted well beyond the professional. Besides Kass' tireless work for Mrs. Obama, for whom he wore a third hat as executive director of her anti-childhood obesity campaign, Kass sometimes traveled with Obama and joined his weekend or vacation golf outings. Obama, in turn, blocked out several hours on his busy schedule to attend Kass' late-August wedding.
Obama said Kass "has grown from a close friend to a critical member of my team" and has left "an indelible mark on the White House." Mrs. Obama praised Kass' "extraordinary legacy of progress," which she said includes healthier food options in groceries, more nutritious school lunches and initiatives to improve how food is marketed to kids.
Unlike any White House chef before him, Kass helped make decisions with far greater potential consequences than whether the president's veggies, which Kass often plucked from the first lady's garden on the South Lawn, should be steamed or sautéed.
The school lunch changes have led Mrs. Obama into a public spat with the School Nutrition Association, an industry-backed group that represents school cafeteria workers and food companies that sell to schools. The group has lobbied Congress to weaken the standards, arguing they are a burden on financially pinched districts and a big reason why kids are throwing their lunches into the garbage.
A House Republican-led effort to allow some districts to ignore the new lunch standards altogether failed to advance in Congress, but requirements for more whole grains in school foods will be eased instead. The fight over the broader standards is expected to heat up again next year when Republicans, who are sympathetic to the association's arguments, will control both houses of Congress.
Nutrition advocates say anyone who hopes these issues will disappear with Kass will be disappointed.
"This administration is very committed to nutrition and obesity prevention. That commitment runs very deep," said Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, who has pushed for healthier school meals.
Despite her group's issues with the lunch standards, Patricia Montague, the School Nutrition Association's chief executive, said Kass and "Let's Move" played "an important role in promoting healthier lifestyles for children both at school and at home."
Kass will stay involved with "Let's Move," Mrs. Obama's anti-childhood obesity initiative, along with broader efforts to improve childhood nutrition, the White House said.
Testifying to Kass' commitment, former colleague Kristina Schake said Kass spent weekends living the work he did at the White House, including visiting farms, farmers markets and food purveyors. "He can talk about different types of lettuce the way other men talk about sports teams," she said.
Kass said his big plan after leaving the White House is to get some sleep, and "I guess I'll also be the chef for my wife."
While some former White House chefs welcomed Kass' extra-culinary activities, one said Kass was an unnecessary staff addition.

"There is no need for two chefs in the White House. One is enough," said Roland Mesnier, who spent 25 years there as executive pastry chef. He was referring to executive chef Cristeta Comerford, who likely would have prepared Obama's meals had Kass not come along. She handles menus for official White House entertaining, such as state dinners.

Holiday fixtures favor Man City over Chelsea in Premier League title race

For Chelsea, Monday's 2-0 victory over Stoke City marked the start of the most grueling stretch of the season as the Blues will play four matches over 11 days. With one win already in the Christmas bag, Chelsea face a trio of tests starting with West Ham United on Boxing Day.

Nearly halfway through the 2014-15 season, Sam Allardyce's West Ham has been glued to the Premier League's top four positions. The Hammers are unbeaten in their last five matches, and the most famous ponytail in the Premier League, Andy Carroll, is back in the starting lineup. The towering 25-year-old forward has three goals in his last three matches – all of those tallies came at Upton Park. Friday's game with Chelsea is at Stamford Bridge.
Back when Allardyce managed Blackburn Rovers in 2010, the tactically astute manager sent out a "B" team against Manchester United at Old Trafford in an attempt to rotate his squad in a match he did not expect to win. Allardyce was surprisingly sacked following a famous 7-1 defeat, but even a 7-1 loss to Chelsea would not threaten Allardyce's post at West Ham. With the larger goal in mind, Big Sam may be tempted to accept defeat against the Blues and save his first-choice players for home games against Arsenal on Sunday and West Brom on New Year's Day.
If West Ham does send a full-strength squad, the Hammers offer only one of the potential banana skins laid out for Chelsea in the upcoming set of games.

After West Ham, the Blues play only two days later against Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium. Currently in fifth, the Saints are only two points behind West Ham after losing four of their last five Premier League fixtures. However, a 3-0 victory over Everton on Saturday reenergized Southampton's Champions League charge.

At Saint Mary's, manager Ronald Koeman and Southampton have recorded six of their nine Premier League victories this season with a goal differential of plus-15. Only Chelsea (+17) has a better goal differential at home than Southampton, so Chelsea's journey Southwest promises to pack a punch.
To commemorate 2015, Chelsea will travel to White Hart Lane on New Year's Day in another testing affair.
Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham Hotspur have won three matches on the bounce, and Spurs are level on points with Arsenal for sixth place. Regardless of form, Tottenham and Chelsea make for a proper London derby, but Spurs are unbeaten in their last five home games. That would suggest Chelsea will have a tough time of it in North London.
Conceivably, the Blues could face a fourth-place team thrice in seven days.
For Chelsea to collect nine points from the upcoming fixture list would be some achievement, especially considering manager Jose Mourinho has rarely rotated his squad this season. Likely, Mourinho will look to Didier Drogba to supplant Diego Costa, and Felipe Luis will come in for Cesar Azpilicueta. Oscar sat on the substitutes' bench against Stoke City, so the Brazilian should feature in the upcoming stretch of games. However, Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard, Nemanja Matic, John Terry, Gary Cahill and the majority of first-choice squad expect to start all of the crucial matches.

What makes Chelsea's schedule even more difficult is the relative cakewalk Manchester City faces over the same stretch of games. On Boxing Day, the Citizens are away to West Bromwich Albion, which is only two points above the drop zone. Following that, City plays host to Burnley, a side in the relegation zone, on the weekend and another team that has been at home in the bottom half of the table – Sunderland on New Year's Day.

Even with an injury crisis at striker, Manchester City would expect to win at The Hawthorns, where West Brom has lost four times in nine matches this term, and collect six more points at the Etihad Stadium. Man City has six wins in eight home matches this season.

Chelsea's fixtures promise a fantastic festive period in the Premier League, and the title race should be neck-and-neck to start 2015. In a perfect world, Chelsea and Manchester City will be level on points when the Citizens travel to Stamford Bridge on January 31 for a sumptuous affair with dramatic title implications.