Said she cried when doctors revealed she was free of the deadly virus

Was first in the world to be treated with experimental drug MIL 77 - and says eating strawberries got her through the ordeal

An Army volunteer who contracted Ebola has been successfully treated with an experimental drug, but credits the humble strawberry with saving her life.

Corporal Anna Cross was the first person in the world to be treated with MIL 77, after choosing to do so following 'careful consideration'.

But when asked what helped her pull through, she said: 'Strawberries. I reckon I've had ten punnets.'

Cpl Cross joined the Army Reserves in 2013 as a staff nurse and volunteered to help care for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, arriving there last month.

But she was evacuated back to the UK in an RAF plane on March 12 after becoming the third Briton to test positive for the virus.

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Corporal Anna Cross has been successfully treated with an experimental Ebola drug, it emerged today

Today, she told a press conference at London's Royal Free Hospital that she had been treated by an 'absolutely incredible bunch of clinicians'.

Cpl Cross, from Cambridge, praised both the Army and the NHS, which she works for as an intensive care nurse.

'If it wasn't for both of those institutions I wouldn't be here today,' she said.

'It's thanks to them I'm alive.'

The 25-year-old said she cried when she found out she was free of the virus and attributed eating strawberries to help her through it.

She said it will still take a 'long time' before she is fully fit and would 'love' to continue volunteering with the military - although she suspected she would not be able to return to Sierra Leone.

MIL 77 is a close relative of the medicine ZMapp – the drug given to British nurse William Pooley when he too was treated for Ebola at the Royal Free.

ZMapp is a blend of three laboratory-made antibodies designed to neutralise the virus.

Infectious diseases specialist Dr Michael Jacobs said he was 'absolutely thrilled' to announce that Cpl Cross was Ebola-free.

Cpl Cross, from Cambridge, praised both the Army and the NHS, which she works for as an intensive care nurse. She was the first person in the world to be treated with MIL 77, after choosing to do so following 'careful consideration'

The 25-year-old joined the Army Reserves in 2013 as a staff nurse and volunteered to help care for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. But shortly after arriving, she became the third Briton to contact Ebola

He said it was impossible to say on the basis of treating one patient whether MIL 77 would work as well with others.

'But what I can tell you is that the treatment went very well,' he told reporters.

'It caused no side effects that we were able to illicit and we were very happy with its use.'

It was produced by a company in China which 'very kindly' provided the drug and there was a 'limited supply' left that they could treat future potential patients with.

Cpl Cross said today she had no idea how she contracted the virus.

An investigation was carried out at the treatment centre where she worked but no conclusions were drawn.

She told the press conference that one day she was treating patients there, and the next she was being cared for there herself.

At a press conference at the Royal Free Hospital in London today, infectious diseases specialist Dr Michael Jacobs (right) said he was 'absolutely thrilled' to announce that Cpl Cross was Ebola-free

He explained MIL 77 is a close relative of the medicine ZMapp – the drug given to British nurse William Pooley when he too was treated for Ebola at the Royal Free

'I had treated a patient that was in the facility, and then the next day I was sat with them,' she said. 'It was weird.'

'It was nice in a sense because I felt like we were having the same experience and we were both being treated to the same standard.

'It was odd because I had seen patients who got really sick and had died but he was doing really well, which was encouraging for me.'

Cpl Cross went on to praise the professionalism of her colleagues who cared for her.

THE EBOLA EPIDEMIC SO FAR... There have been a total of 24, 907 cases of the Ebola reported since this outbreak began. Of this, 10, 326 people have died from the virus - including one death in the US and six in Mali - according to the latest World Health Organisation figures. In West Africa, to date there have been 4,301 deaths in Liberia, 3,747 in Sierra Leone, 2,263 in Guinea and 8 in Nigeria. The WHO has declared the outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal officially over, as there have been no new cases reported since 5 September. However a total of 79 new confirmed cases of Ebola were reported last week, 45 from Guinea, 33 from Sierra Leone and one case from Liberia. So far six British workers have been flown home to the UK after suspected contact with the deadly Ebola virus. Anna Cross was the third British citizen to test positive for Ebola, following two others, nurses Will Pooley and Pauline Cafferkey, who made full recoveries after being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Advertisement

'They were totally dedicated to getting me home, to getting my health optimised, to get me on the flight, which they did within less than 24 hours of me being diagnosed.

'A fantastic RAF team brought me home.'

And she described the team at the Royal Free as the 'best in the world' at treating the disease.

She said that after being diagnosed it 'was hard for a few hours and then something in my mind just kicked in as it does in difficult situations and it said 'I have a job to do', which is to get myself back well, and I started to really focus on the people around me.'

She said this reassured her and she was confident she would get the best possible treatment.

She added that she couldn't even remember feeling, 'just tired'.

During her illness she lost 10kg (1.5 stone), but credited her high levels of fitness for her speedy recovery.

She now plans to do 'normal things' such as eating food and watching TV - and joked she was grateful for the long career of David Attenborough, whose documentaries she has been watching while in hospital.

She added that her family were 'thrilled' at her recovery.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said today: 'People that volunteer in Sierra Leone show remarkable courage and it is fantastic to hear Corporal Cross has made a full recovery from Ebola.

'I am incredibly proud of the staff at the Royal Free Hospital for their tireless work in helping Corporal Cross return home.'

Minister for the Armed Forces Mark Francois said: 'I am delighted that Corporal Cross has made a full recovery and has now been discharged from the Royal Free Hospital.

'I sincerely thank the military medics from 22 Field Hospital who initially treated her in country, the RAF team who got her back to the UK so swiftly and of course, the staff at the Royal Free who treated her so skilfully back to health.

'Corporal Cross was providing vital support to help combat the spread of Ebola in Sierra Leone, and her 300 other colleagues in country who continue that great effort - we are proud of them all.'