American journalist Ashoka Mukpo, who contracted the disease in Liberia has now returned to the U.S. to be treated at Nebraska Medical Center

The first treatment center should be ready to accept patients by the end of the month

It isn't immediately clear if the fence was to help protect the camp or to prevent sick patients escaping

On Monday afternoon soldiers erected a barbed wire around what will become one of the treatment centers

Poor infrastructure, difficulties with equipment and torrential rains have all slowed the U.S. military's response

conditions as they look to build almost 20 field hospitals in the disease-ravaged country

American troops have arrived at Ebola’s ground zero in Liberia in a bid to battle the outbreak in the country hardest hit by the deadly disease.

Poor infrastructure, difficulties with equipment and torrential rains slowed the U.S. military's initial response, but by Monday afternoon U.S. soldiers had started to erect barbed wire around what will be one of almost 20 treatment centers.

It isn’t immediately clear if the fence is to help protect the camp from possible looters or to prevent sick patients escaping.

American troops have arrived at Ebola’s ground zero in Liberia in a bid to battle the outbreak in the country hardest hit by the deadly disease

It isn’t immediately clear if the fence is to help protect the camp from possible looters or to prevent sick patients escaping

Liberia is the country hit hardest by the largest Ebola outbreak on record, accounting for about two-thirds of the total 3,338 deaths recorded in the region since the beginning of the year.

The first treatment center, a 25-bed clinic located near the airport in the capital Monrovia, will be reserved for contaminated healthcare workers.

It should be ready to accept patients at the end of the month, according to spokesman Chuck Prichard at the U.S. military's Africa Command.

‘Every time it rains it slows things down,’ said Lt. Col. Jason Brown, noting that construction for the field hospital was supposed to begin Monday morning and has been pushed to the afternoon.

Military teams have also been slowed by equipment that's broken down - including the steering on a road grader - or mix-ups in the delivery of supplies.

On any construction job, there are delays, Brown said, but Liberia presents added challenges.

Poor infrastructure, difficulties with equipment and torrential rains slowed the U.S. military's initial response, but by Monday afternoon U.S. soldiers had started to erect barbed wire around what will be one of almost 20 treatment centers

Relatives pray over a weak Siata Johnson, 23, outside the Ebola treatment center at the Island Hospital on the outskirts of Monrovia

‘Imagine those same frustrations multiplied by a country that has challenges with their infrastructure and challenges with the schedule,’ he said. But, he said, engineers from the Army, Navy and Marines ‘have workarounds and solutions for everything.’

The Ebola outbreak is believed to have killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa and has taken the biggest toll in Liberia. There aren't enough beds in isolation units to keep up with the hundreds who get sick each week.

The U.S. has also promised to build 17 other Ebola treatment centers, which would have space for 100 patients each. Work on at least two of the clinics has begun, Prichard said.

While the space is sorely needed, some experts are worried about who will staff them.

The three hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone had too few doctors and nurses to begin with, and a tremendous number of infections in health care workers during the outbreak has only further reduced their numbers.

As well as U.S. soldiers, local contractors have been hired to help with the building of 18 Ebola treatment centers which would have space for 100 patients each

A family member is disinfected after bringing a sick relative to the Ebola treatment center at the Island Hospital on the outskirts of Monrovia

With more than 370 health care workers sickened by the disease so far, many other clinicians are afraid to care for Ebola patients.

The White House said President Obama plans to meet with his national security advisers on Monday to discuss the Ebola outbreak and the administration's response. The Pentagon's spokesman said on Friday that up to 4,000 U.S. troops could be deployed to West Africa.

Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said the military has begun medical testing for Ebola at two new labs in Liberia. Kirby said that the service members are not going to treat patients and are not expected to come in contact with anyone who is infected.

There are about 230 U.S. troops deployed for the Ebola mission now. About two dozen are in Senegal setting up a transportation center and the rest are in Liberia.

Military teams have been slowed down by wet weather, equipment breaking down and mix-ups in the delivery of supplies

A woman enters an Ebola treatment center on the outskirts of Monrovia. She said she was bleeding heavily from a miscarriage and was unable to get treatment at other clinics, many of which now refuse to treat bleeding patients due to fears of contracting the disease

Also on Monday, Ebola-stricken American photojournalist Ashoka Mukpo returned to the U.S. from Liberia.

His parents, Dr Mitchell Levy and Lady Diana Mukpo, appeared at a press conference on Monday at Nebraska Medical Center where their son arrived on a private medical flight from West Africa this morning to begin life-saving treatment.

Dr Levy said Ashoka had spent three years in Liberia working for an NGO but returned to the U.S. in May. As the Ebola crisis deepened, the 33-year-old wanted to return because of his strong connection to the country and its people.

Dr Levy said: 'Our son is strong-willed and determined. He has always lived by his integrity. He made a strong connection with the Liberian people and felt compelled to go back.

'I told him I thought he was crazy and I told him about the risks but none of it worked. I'm proud of him but I wished he would go somewhere else.'

Dr Mitchell Levy and Lady Diana Mukpo, parents of Ebola patient Ashoka Mukpo, said today (pictured) they were relieved to have their sick son home in the U.S. and had begged him not to return to Liberia last month

Ashoka Mukpo is transported to an ambulance this morning from a specially-designed isolation pod on a plane while wearing a full body suit and face mask. His medical team can also be seen in hazmat suits and face masks

Photojournalist Ashoka Mukpo, an American who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia, landed in Omaha, Nebraska, on Monday morning in a full body suit and face mask

Ashoka Mukpo, a freelance journalist from Rhode Island, was working as a cameraman for NBC in Liberia. His jet landed on Monday in Maine for refueling before continuing to Nebraska where he will be treated in a specialized bio-containment unit

Mr Mukpo, from Providence, Rhode Island, had been in Liberia for about a month covering the Ebola crisis and was working as a freelance cameraman for NBC when he fell ill last Wednesday.

Mr Mukpo arrived at Nebraska Medical Center on Monday morning in an ambulance surrounded by a police convoy.

Mr Mukpo was flown home to the U.S. from Liberia and transferred Monday to Nebraska Medical Center

His mother said today she was relieved that he was back in the U.S. to receive medical treatment and he 'sounded strong' when they had spoken via video-link in his bio-containment unit.

The journalist's girlfriend Helen, who had flown to Nebraska with his parents, had also had a chance to speak with him.

The parents said that their son was tired and wanted to rest but it 'was wonderful to see his face'.

Dr Levy said his son's symptoms did not appear to have worsened in the time since he had left Liberia and that he was suffering fever and nausea but not diarrhea.

The doctor added that their son seemed 'tentative and frightened' when they saw him from a distance being wheeled into the medical center.

The parents are still discussing Mr Mukpo's treatment with his doctors and it is yet unclear whether he will receive a dose of an experimental serum.

The patient received IV fluids on the plane, his father said, adding that he was thankful that his son's condition had not deteriorated before he returned to the U.S.

However Dr Levy added that it was likely his son would go into the next, more serious, stage of Ebola at the Nebraska hospital.

The 33-year-old, returned to Liberia on September 4 after returning to the U.S. in May following two years of work with a non-governmental organization.

He believes that he may have contracted the virus after getting splashed while spray-washing a car that had carried someone who later died of Ebola.

Mr Mukpo, in full bodysuit and face mask, was earlier seen at Eppley Airfield being stretchered from a plane to an ambulance staffed with a medical team, also dressed in hazmat suits and face masks.

Mr Mukpo left Liberia on a private medical flight on Sunday which stopped for a brief refueling in Bangor, Maine this morning before completing the journey to Omaha.

The photojournalist had been in Liberia to cover the outbreak of Ebola and raise awareness of the deadly virus which has claimed more than 3,400 lives, the majority in West Africa.

He has spent three years working the country and returned to cover the health crisis. A former colleague, VICE News producer Danny Gold said that Mr Mukpo wanted to help in any way he could.

Mr Gold added: 'It wasn't abnormal to drive down the street with him and have numerous people call out his name and wave.'

An ambulance driver in hazmat suit and face mask carries Ebola patient Ashoka Mukpo from an airstrip in Nebraska to a special treatment center in Omaha

An ambulance transports Ashoka Mukpo, who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia, to the Nebraska Medical Center's specialized isolation unit, surrounded by a police convoy

Mr Mukpo appeared to be sitting upright and conscious after being brought off the flight at Eppley Airfield

Mr Mukpo is the fifth American flown home to be treated for the deadly virus and the second patient taken to Nebraska Medical Center's bio-containment unit.

The 33-year-old flew out of Monrovia in Liberia on a jet equipped with an isolation pod that separated him from his caregivers during the flight.

In an NBC interview, aired on Monday, Mr Mukpo's mother, Lady Diana Judith Mukpo, said she was relieved that her son was about to receive excellent medical care.

The cameraman's father, Dr Mitchell Levy, said his son had told him on the phone that he was just trying to get through each day before returning to the U.S.

Dr Levy earlier told the Providence Journal how he had heard the terrible news of his son's diagnosis.

The doctor said: 'My heart sunk. He said, ''Dad pick up your phone. Answer the phone. I think I'm in trouble.'''

He added: 'He still has the fever. But his spirits are very good, I have to say. I think he's continually sustained by the fact that he knows he's coming home.'

When he arrives at the Nebraska hospital today, a team of more than 40 medical staff members - include registered nurses, respiratory therapists, patient-care technicians - will be on hand to support his needs.

An ambulance carrying Ebola patient Ashoka Mukpo travels in police convoy in Omaha to Nebraska Medical Center on Monday morning

A BRITISH ARISTOCRAT MOTHER AND A HARD-DRINKING BUDDHIST MONK FATHER: THE WILD FAMILY HISTORY OF EBOLA PATIENT ASHOKA MUKPO Controversial: Mukpo's mother Diana and his adoptive father Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche As Ashoka Mukpo battles Ebola at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the eyes of the Tibetan Buddhist world are on him. To them, Mr Mukpo is far more than a freelance cameraman for NBC News: He's a reincarnated Lama and the son of the one of the great visionaries of Tibetan Buddhism, who is credited with bringing the faith to the West in the 1960s and 70s. Mr Mukpo was born to Lady Diana Mukpo, the daughter of a wealthy English lawyer who shocked upper-class society when she married Buddhist monk Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche when she was just 16 years old. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Mr Mukpo's father, is considered a visionary, if controversial, figure in Tibetan Buddhism. He established the first monastery in the West and set up schools in Scotland and outside Boulder, Colorado. Trungpa counted David Bowie, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Joni Mitchell among his students. He was known for practicing a free-love style of Buddhism that incorporated wild booze and drug-fueled sex parties into the quest for spiritual enlightenment. When Mr Mukpo was just eight months old, Trungpa declared that the baby was a Tulku - the ninth reincarnation of the Tibetan Lama Khamnyon Rinpoche, 'the Mad Yogi of Kham.' Ashoka Mukpo is seen here in Tibet at a ceremony where he was enthroned as the ninth incarnation of Khamnyon Rinpoche, the so-called 'Mad Yogi of Kham' To further complicate Mr Mukpo's life, Trungpa - the man who helped raise him as his father, is not his biological dad. Trungpa's personal physician, Dr Mitchell Levy - who was having a relationship with Trungpa's wife Lady Diana - is his biological dad. Mr Mukpo traveled to Tibet, where he was enthroned as the reincarnation of Lama Khamnyon Rinpoche - but has mostly shied away from the eccentric Buddhist life of his mother and father. Trungpa died in 1987 of complications of alcoholism and Mr Mukpo was raised by Dr Levy and Lady Diana in Providence, Rhode Island. He has devoted himself to working for non-profit organizations, including campaigning for better treatment in U.S. prisons for Human Rights Watch. After earning a degree in international development from the London School of Economics, he went to Liberia, where he worked on a project helping farmers obtain legal rights to their own land. The indulgent monk: Chögyam Trungpa, seen here in the early 1970s with Lady Diana, was known for smoking, drinking and taking drugs. He also slept with many of his students - even after getting married Advertisement

Ashoka Mukpo arrives at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska on Monday morning to be treated for Ebola at the state's bio-containment unit

Mr Mukpo took off in a specially-designed jet that includes 'an isopod' - a plastic enclosure with a filtration system - that allows safe transport of highly infectious patients.

The hospital's bio-containment unit was created in 2005 specifically to handle illnesses like this, said Dr Phil Smith, who oversees the unit.

'We are ready, willing and able to care for this patient,' Dr Smith said. 'We consider it our duty to give these American citizens the best possible care we can.'

Doctors at the isolation unit - the largest of four nationwide - would evaluate Mr Mukpo when he arrives before determining how to treat him.

They said they will apply the lessons learned while treating American aid worker Dr Rick Sacra in September. Dr Sacra was successfully treated in the Nebraska unit and was allowed to return to his home in Massachusetts after three weeks, on September 25.

'Truly, focusing on symptom management is key with these patients,' Dr. Rosanna Morris said Friday.

Mr Mukpo has been involved in securing workers' rights in the West African countries and was a former advocate for an NGO

Dr Sacra received an experimental Tekmira Pharmaceuticals drug called TKM-Ebola, as well as two blood transfusions from another American aid worker, Dr Kent Brantly, who recovered from Ebola at Emory University hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

The transfusions are believed to help a patient fight off the virus because the survivor's blood carries antibodies for the disease. Dr Sacra also received supportive care, including IV fluids and aggressive electrolyte management.

Mr Mukpo's family won't be allowed to embrace or touch but will communicate and see each other via camera. Dr Levy has said that doctors are optimistic about his son's prognosis.

Mr Mukpo was hired last Tuesday to be the second cameraman in Liberia for NBC's chief medical editor and correspondent Dr Nancy Snyderman.

Speaking on NBC's Today show on Friday, Mr Mukpo's mother Diana, a British aristocrat, spoke of her concern for her son.

'I think the enormous anxiety that I have as a mother or that we share as parents is the delay between now and him leaving on Sunday,' she said.

Dr Snyderman and her team also were returning to the U.S. and being placed in quarantine for 21 days 'in an abundance of caution,' NBC News President Deborah Turness said on Thursday.

In a phone interview with Today on Friday, Dr Snyderman said all the gear she and her crew used was being disinfected because they all shared work space and vehicles.

She believes she and her team were at a low risk because they have been 'hyper-vigilant.'

Mr Mukpo had been working in Liberia for three years for Vice News and other media outlets. Before the Ebola outbreak, he had been doing nonprofit development work in Liberia.