A Scottish nurse who was struck down with Ebola after treating victims of the disease in Africa has now recovered from her second bout of the disease.

In a statement, the Royal Free Hospital in London said Pauline Cafferkey had made a "full recovery", is no longer infectious, and has been transferred to Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

In a statement, Ms Cafferkey said she is "forever thankful for the amazing care I have received at the Royal Free Hospital".

She added: "For a second time staff across many departments of the hospital have worked incredibly hard to help me recover and I will always be grateful to them and the NHS.

"I am looking forward to returning to Scotland and to seeing my family and friends again."

Sierra Leone

Ms Cafferkey first contracted the disease after treating patients in Sierra Leone at the height of the outbreak which killed more than 11,000 people.

The 39-year-old from South Lanarkshire in Scotland was first treated at the Royal Free Hospital in December and discharged in January after it was thought she had recovered from the virus.

But on 9 October she was flown from Glasgow back to the Royal Free Hospital by a military plane after an "unusual late complication" caused her to fall ill again.

Dr Derek Gatherer, from Lancaster University, said people who fight off Ebola produce antibodies that "kill off the virus in most bodily fluids".

But he added: "In areas of the body where the immune system is not particularly active - one of these is the central nervous system... the Ebola virus can survive in very small quantities." 

Pauline Cafferkey is Irish soccer star Packie Bonner's cousin.