2nd UN member in Liberia tests positive for Ebola

UNITED NATIONS - A staff member working for the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola, a UN spokesperson said Wednesday.

The Head of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) Karin Landgren confirmed that this is the second member of the mission to contract Ebola, said Stephane Dujarric at a regular briefing here, noting that the first died on Sept. 25.

The total number of confirmed, probable, and suspected cases in the West African epidemic of Ebola is 8,033 with 3,879 deaths, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

"The mission has taken all necessary measures to prevent any possible further transmission within or outside the mission," Dujarric quoted Landgren as saying.

Dujarric said that the UN mission has conducted contact tracing to ensure all people that had contact with both staff members while they were contagious are assessed and quarantined.

All UNMIL staff considered at-risk have been isolated. Meanwhile, the ambulances and other locations have been decontaminated, he added.