Universal Health Services says its network is 'still down' - spokeswoman

An emergency sign illuminates outside of George Washington University Hospital

(Reuters) - A spokeswoman for Universal Health Services said Thursday that its network is still down following a malware incident that experts and employees have described as a ransomware attack.

Spokeswoman Jane Crawford said in an email that the company was making "steady progress" and that some systems were coming back online.

The company, which runs some 400 healthcare centers and hospitals across the United States and the U.K., has been struggling to restore its systems since the incident began on Sunday.

The firm has said its U.K. operations are unaffected.

(Reporting by Raphael Satter, Editing by Franklin Paul)