The family and friends of a British nurse who contracted Ebola last Christmas will have to be tested for the deadly virus after she fell gravely ill for the second time today.

Pauline Cafferkey, 39, is in a 'serious condition' at the Royal Free Hospital in London after the RAF flew her down from Glasgow this morning.

Her second bout of Ebola came ten days after she received a Pride of Britain award from Lenny Henry and Carol Vorderman and met Samantha Cameron in Downing Street the following day.

Miss Cafferkey is now back in the isolation unit where she spent a month and became critically ill after being diagnosed with Ebola last December.

Ten days ago: Nurse Pauline Cafferkey (pictured circled centre) accepted a Pride of Britain award less than a fortnight ago from Lenny Henry (far left), Suranne Jones (centre left) and Carol Vorderman and (far right) but is now seriously ill with Ebola for the second time

Back in hospital: Pauline Cafferkey, 39, (left last week) is ill with Emola again and has been flown from Glasgow back to the Royal Free Hospital, where she spent a month in isolation last December (pictured right after her initial recovery)

Gala: Pauline Cafferkey (circled left) was in Downing Street to meet Samantha Cameron (circled far right) ten days ago after being given a Pride of Britain award

Protection: Police closed roads between RAF Northolt and the Royal Free in Hampstead - the same journey she took after falling ill at Christmas after getting Ebola in Sierra Leone

Transport: This is the moment Pauline Cafferkey was wheeled from an RAF jet on a bed surrounded by a protective bubble and into a waiting ambulance

The NHS nurse was working at a GP surgery until a week ago but was not displaying Ebola symptoms so patients and colleagues are not at risk, NHS Lanarkshire said today.

But a small group likely to include her family, friends and those who initially treated her at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow will be tested for the deadly virus.

This morning the NHS nurse was wheeled from a jet at RAF Northolt by medics in hazard suits on a bed surrounded by a protective bubble before police closed roads so her ambulance could rush her to the nearby hospital in Hampstead.

'SNEAKY' EBOLA FINDS PLACES TO HIDE EVEN IF IT IS ALMOST BEATEN Ebola will find places in the body to survive if the victim recovers The Ebola virus can linger in bodily tissues even after the person appears to have made a full recovery, according to experts. Parts of the body such as the eye, central nervous system and testes can harbour the virus, which can also behave in an unpredictable way. Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: 'The Ebola virus can occasionally persist for some months in certain tissues within survivors. 'The risk of transmission from these individuals appears to be very low. However, with so many survivors in West Africa now, there is a risk that further outbreaks can be triggered, which is why authorities have to remain very vigilant.' Dr Ben Neuman, a virologist at the University of Reading, told BBC Radio Scotland he believes the outlook for Pauline Cafferkey is good. He told the Good Morning Scotland programme: 'The nice news here is that she's beaten the virus once so she can probably beat it again. 'The odds are that she actually has inherited a lucky set of genes and these are probably what protected her the first time and probably what will keep her safe the second time, regardless of any treatment. I think the outlook's good.' He said scientists are still learning about the virus and its effects. 'It seems that some of the ongoing health problems with people's eys, joints and hair loss are actually caused not by the after-effects of Ebola, but by the small amounts of Ebola which is still residing somewhere in the body,' he said. 'It's surprising and we're just learning how to deal with this.' Dr Neuman said the aim of any treatment for Ms Cafferkey would be to try to eliminate any last traces of the virus. He told BBC Radio Scotland: 'The good news is that it's probably not going to be infectious. The virus, once it is removed from the blood once, tends to retreat into the hard-to-access compartments of the body. 'It will hide in places like the back of your eye, in breastmilk, places like that. But we also have some treatments now that are actually shown to work and reduce complications from Ebola and that's due to brave people like Nurse Cafferkey'. Advertisement

She is said to have developed an 'unusual late complication' as a result of the original Ebola infection and tests have revealed that the virus is still lingering in her body.

Confirming the relapse - and the seriousness of her condition - Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted: 'Thoughts with Pauline Cafferkey today as she battles Ebola for the second time'.

The nurse was given indefinite leave from her NHS job after she first fell ill with Ebola last December but had returned to work at a health centre in Lanarkshire, just south of Glasgow.

She had been working part time since mid-March as nurse based in Blantyre Health Centre near Glasgow and and had been well when she was last at work on October 1.

NHS Lanarkshire claim this means that no patients or colleagues are at risk.

Consultant in Public Health David Cromie said: 'This is not a new case of ebola and is a complication of her previous illness. The Ebola virus can only be transmitted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person while they are symptomatic. Pauline was well while at work and there is no wider public health risk for patients treated by her or her staff colleagues.

'In line with normal procedures in cases such as this, a small number of close contacts of Pauline have been identified and will be followed up as a precaution.'

'Together with Pauline's colleagues our thoughts are with Pauline and we wish her a full speedy recovery.'

Ten days ago she was given a Pride of Britain award for her humanitarian work and also met the Prime Minister's wife Samantha Cameron the following day at Downing Street, alongside other winners.

A spokesman for the Department of Health told MailOnline there was a 'next-to zero risk' of anyone at the Pride of Britain awards or Downing Street being infected.

He said: 'She wasn't symptomatic – she wasn't displaying any symptoms of Ebola at the awards. She wasn't ill then.

'You can't catch Ebola unless you are in really, really close contact with someone with Ebola.

'Unless someone is displaying the symptoms you cannot catch it.'

Despite recovering from Ebola Pauline had complained about never having fully recovered after leaving hospital in January.

She said that her ordeal meant that her hair was falling out and she had problems with her thyroid.

Government sources have told MailOnline that Miss Cafferkey - who left the Royal Free in January - poses a low risk to the public. It is only spread by body fluids, such as blood, faeces and saliva.

The incubation period - the time between infection and the onset of symptoms - ranges from two days to three weeks.

It is understood that the nurse had taken herself to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow on Tuesday after feeling unwell.

She was treated in the infectious diseases unit.

Officials then found traces of the virus remained in her body and she was then flown by the RAF from Glasgow to London overnight.

She landed at RAF Northolt at around 6am and was taken off a military aircraft in a bed surrounded by a plastic bubble.

She was then transferred by ambulance to the Royal Free and police stopped traffic to allow a quick transfer to the isolation unit.

Pauline Cafferkey's neighbours in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, today spoke of their surprise after the nurse was taken into an isolation unit. They said she lived on her own and described her as a private person.

One neighbour said: 'I'm very surprised that she still has Ebola because of the reports coming from London which said she was okay.

'I went to check with the doctors if I had caught Ebola, just in case, but I was relieved to be told it was just the flu.

'She's a very quiet but nice woman.

Another neighbour, who did not wish to be named, added: 'She's a very private person, I've only seen her three times since the first time she got out of hospital.'

Critical: The nurse, who had been volunteering in Africa, had been in a deteriorating condition but survived thanks to a mix of anti-virals and blood plasma from a survivor

Transfer: The nurse (circled) was diagnosed with Ebola and was seen walking from an ambulance at Glasgow Airport as she was moved by military aircraft to London on December 30 last year

Special care: This is the High Level Isolation Unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London where Pauline Cafferkey is being held

Q&A ON EBOLA - ONE OF THE MOST DEADLY DISEASES ON THE PLANET What is Ebola? Ebola is one of the world's deadliest diseases, with more than 50 per of cases resulting in death. The disease was first recorded in two simultaneous outbreaks in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. How did the latest outbreak occur? The first cases of the current outbreak in West Africa were detected in March 2014. It is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered. The most severely affected countries are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where weak health systems and recent instability have contributed to the spread of the virus. What are symptoms? The symptoms of Ebola are severe, with patients often overcome by a sudden onset of fever as well as weakness, muscle pain and headaches. Vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes, kidney and liver problems follow as the virus grips the body. The incubation period - the time between infection and the onset of symptoms - ranges from two days to three weeks. How is it spread? Ebola spreads from person to person as a result of direct contact with the blood, organs or other bodily fluids of those infected, with healthcare workers among those most at risk. However, it is only contagious while an infected person is suffering from symptoms. Who has died? As of October 4 2015, 11,312 people have died globally after contracting Ebola, Public Health England said. This includes a number of tourists and travellers in Europe and America after returning from West Africa. For the first time last week, no new cases of Ebola were reported, the World Health Organisation said. Advertisement

Professor Paul Cosford, Medical Director at Public Health England said: 'We can confirm that Pauline Cafferkey was transferred from the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow to the Royal Free Hospital in the early hours of this morning due to an unusual late complication of her previous illness.

'She was transported in a military aircraft under the supervision of experts. She will now be treated in isolation in line with nationally agreed guidelines.

'The Scottish health authorities will be following up on a small number of close contacts of Pauline's as a precaution.

'It is important to remember that the ebola virus can only be transmitted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person while they are symptomatic.

'The risk to the general public remains low and the NHS has well established and practised infection control procedures in place.'

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: 'My very best wishes to Pauline Cafferkey for a speedy recovery.'

Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood said: 'We have been working closely with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Health Protection Scotland to ensure Pauline has received all appropriate treatment and care throughout her stay at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and onward transfer to the Royal Free Hospital.'

She added: 'Pauline is now being cared for in the best place possible, with specialists who have the most experience of looking after patients who have previously recovered from the Ebola virus.'

The NHS nurse had been a volunteer with Save the Children at the Ebola Treatment Centre in Kerry Town Sierra Leone last year.

But she then fell ill when she returned to the UK just after Christmas, sparking panic because she had been on flights with hundreds of people.

After becoming gravely ill she survived after being given an anti-viral drug and is being transfused with blood plasma from a European Ebola survivor.

Other victims: Anna Cross, 25, left, recovered from the disease after being treated with an experimental drug while Will Pooley, right, from Suffolk, last year became the first Briton to contract Ebola and also survived

Emergency: Pauline landed at a nearby RAF base and then was taken to the Royal Free in London for special care this morning

Last week she was on television talking about her illness after picking up a Pride of Britain award.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: EBOLA NURSE MARCHES THROUGH MADRID OVER 'EXECUTION' OF HER DOG A nurse whose dog was put down because she had Ebola held a vigil exactly a year after his death Teresa Romero and dozens of supporters walked Madrid's streets in memory of her beloved Excalibur (pictured together above) yesterday. She said said she was still protesting 'in memory of Excalibur, who was executed a year ago by health authorities' The nurse also made a plea that 'these things will not happen again.' Fury erupted on October 8 last year after a government health spokesman confirmed that Teresa Romero Ramos's dog, Excalibur, had been destroyed. The official explained: 'Unfortunately we had no other choice.' The animal was put to sleep inside Mrs Romero's home, which was disinfected before the animal's body was taken away in a white van to a nearby incinerator. Demonstrators who mounted a vigil outside to try to stop the move shouted 'murderers' and several threw themselves on the ground as the vehicle left. Some 300,000 people had already signed a petition urging authorities to spare Excalibur. Advertisement

She told ITV's Lorraine show she would go back to Sierra Leone again to treat patients.

Explaining how she felt when she realised she had Ebola: 'Outwardly I just tried to be stoical about everything but inside obviously, I was very frightened.

'I knew it could have gone three ways - it could have been mild, it could have been severe which it was with me and it could have been death the other outcome which I came very close to.'

She admitted afterwards that she had felt like 'giving up' as her condition became critical.

Miss Cafferkey's case sparked a review of Britain's Ebola screening systems.

She spent five weeks treating victims in Sierra Leone and then flew back to the UK.

It later emerged that officials at Heathrow had allowed her to board a connecting flight to Glasgow even though she had complained of a fever, testing her temperature seven times.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt then announced that officials must use more rigorous checks for doctors and nurses returning to the UK following volunteer work.

Before her case the screening only involved them having their temperature taken and filling-in a questionnaire about whether they have come into contact with patients.

It meant that anyone who was mildly unwell was made to undergo further checks even if their temperature seems normal.

The disease has no known cure and is unpredictable.

The most recent outbreak of Ebola mainly affected three countries in West Africa: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

More than 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths have been reported by the World Health Organisation.

Nurse Will Pooley, from Suffolk, last year became the first Briton to contract Ebola while working out in Sierra Leone. Following his recovery he returned to the country to continue helping treat patients.

Nurse Pauline Cafferkey was later diagnosed with the illness after returning from healthcare work in West Africa.

British Army medic Anna Cross, 25, recovered from the disease after being treated with an experimental drug. All three were treated at the high-level isolation ward at the Royal Free Hospital in London.