The United Nations worker contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and has been placed in isolation under high security

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

France is treating a UN employee who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone, the health ministry said on Sunday.

“This person, who worked in Sierra Leone in the fight against Ebola, has undergone a secure medical evacuation by specialised aircraft,” the ministry said in a statement.

The victim has been placed in isolation under high security in an army training hospital in Saint-Mande near Paris.

A French nurse, who worked for Médecins sans Frontières in Liberia, was treated for Ebola at the same hospital in September and recovered.

Despite around 500 reports of possible Ebola infections in France since June, not one has so far tested positive, the ministry added.

France has 12 research hospitals ready to take in suspected Ebola cases.

The Ebola epidemic had killed at least 4,922 people out of 13,703 cases up to October 27, almost all in the west African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the latest World Health Organisation figures.