Community figures have been reacting to the news that former Crossgates woman Pauline Cafferkey has contracted ebola.
The nurse volunteered to help in the fight against the deadly virus in Sierra Leone and was part of a 30-strong team of medical volunteers deployed to Africa by the UK Government last month.
The 39-year-old was placed in isolation after she complained of feeling feverish on returning to Scotland on Sunday night.
As the former pupil of St Columba’s RC High School in Dunfermline continued to receive specialist treatment in hospital in London, people from her home village united behind her worried family to pray for her recovery.
The daughter of former miner Michael Cafferkey and his wife Jean, Pauline is the youngest of three sisters with Karen, 42, and Toni, 40, still living locally.
Pauline moved to South Lanarkshire and was working as a public health nurse at Blantyre Health Centre before her deployment to Sierra Leone.
Cowdenbeath MSP Alex Rowley summed up the feeling in the area, saying: “It’s sad that anybody is suffering from this illness but it brings it home to you when it’s somebody so local.”
He added: “The thoughts and prayers of many people living in this area will be with Pauline as they will her to get better. They will also be thinking of her family at this time.”
Mr Rowley praised Pauline, a rugby fan, for risking her own health to help others.
“This highlights there are people locally who are giving up their time and putting themselves at risk and for that, Pauline should be recognised,” he said.
Councillor Willie Clark expressed his shock, saying: “Obviously it’s very concerning for the family to hear that news.
“I wish them well but so far things appear to have been dealt with well, getting her down to England so quickly.”
Fellow councillor Alastair Bain said: “I wish her all of the best and hopefully she recovers. It was very good of her to go out there and do what she did so it’s unfortunate she has contracted ebola herself.”
The nurse’s courage was also praised by Crossgates and Mossgreen Community Council chairman Robert Arnott.
He said: “She went out there to help which shows a lot of courage and now she has come back home and has found out she has the disease too. Anyone who has enough courage to go out to try to help is to be commended. We have got to hope for the best. I hope it’s not too bad for her.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the risk to the general public was “extremely low to the point of negligible”.