experimental drug ZMapp.
His doctors say Mr Pooley is a "remarkable and resilient young man"
and he "couldn't be in a better place".
The volunteer nurse from Eyke, Suffolk, was exposed to Ebola while
working with patients in Sierra Leone.
He returned to the UK on Sunday and is being kept in a special
isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London.
It is an experimental medicine, we made that absolutely clear in our
discussions with him
Dr Michael Jacobs, Mr Pooley's consultant at the Royal Free
The unit, for patients with highly infectious disease, is the only one
of its kind in Europe.
A special tent ensures medical staff can interact with the patient but
are separated by plastic and rubber.
Untested drug
Dr Michael Jacobs, consultant and clinical lead in infectious diseases
at the Royal Free Hospital, said: "We have had the opportunity to give
him the ZMapp treatment.
"It is an experimental medicine, we made that absolutely clear in our
discussions with him."
Staff said he was given the first dose of ZMapp on Monday and further
doses are expected to be given to him "in due course".
Dr Mike Jacobs added: "We are giving him the very best care possible.
However, the next few days will be crucial."
The experimental drug Mr Pooley is receiving was previously given to
two American aid workers who have now recovered from the virus.
But a Spanish priest and Liberian doctor who were also reported to
have taken the medication died recently.
The medicine has only previously been tested on animals and experts
say it is still unclear whether the drug boosts chances of recovery.
And stocks are extremely limited.
The company that manufactures the drug says all available supplies
have been given out.
The team are now working to make more but says this process will take months.
Direct contact
Mr Pooley had worked as a volunteer providing palliative care at The
Shepherd's Hospice in Sierra Leone from March until July.
He asked to be relocated to the Kenema Government Hospital to serve on
the Ebola treatment ward after he heard reports that patients were
being abandoned when health workers died from the virus.
There is no cure for Ebola but with treatment of the symptoms, and
proper hydration, patients have a chance of survival.
The virus is spread between humans through direct contact with
infected bodily fluids.
More than 2,600 people in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone
have been infected since March, including more than 240 health care
workers.
*.Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
*.Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality
rate of about 55%
*.Incubation period is two to 21 days
*.There is no vaccine or cure
*.Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and
vomiting can help recovery
*.Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be
virus's natural host.
BBC
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