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Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone infects WHO doctor
The physician is in stable condition in Freetown and will be relocated shortly, the UN health agency said in a statement Monday.
To maintain patient confidentiality, WHO spokeswoman Nyka Alexander in Freetown said the agency won't provide details on nationality or where the person is going for treatment.
The doctor was working at the Ebola treatment centre in the Kenema Government Hospital, which is run by Sierra Leone's health ministry.
The physician had symptoms on Saturday that were confirmed yesterday as Ebola, and the evacuation is scheduled for today, Alexander said.
To ensure the safety of those inside the hospital, WHO recommended to the health ministry that new admissions be limited while an investigation is launched.
The UN health agency gave an update on Monday after its team of emergency experts worked together with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and members of her government to assess the country's Ebola situation.
"Transmission of the Ebola virus in Liberia is already intense and the number of new cases is increasing exponentially."
"Liberia, together with the other hard-hit countries, namely Guinea and Sierra Leone, is experiencing a phenomenon never before seen in any previous Ebola outbreak. As soon as a new Ebola treatment facility is opened, it immediately fills to overflowing with patients, pointing to a large but previously invisible caseload," WHO said in a statement.
Liberia has the most cases and deaths to date. As of Monday, there were nearly 2,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths.
A total of 152 health-care workers have been infected and 79 have died.
Both motorbike taxis and regular taxis are "a hot source of potential virus transmission" in Liberia, WHO said.
Elsewhere, Britain said on Monday it would send military and humanitarian experts to Sierra Leone to set up a treatment centre for patients infected with the Ebola virus.
The U.S. Pentagon also announced it will send a 25-bed field hospital to Liberia to help provide medical care for health workers.