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UNICEF Worker Rushed to France for Ebola Treatment


FILE - a healthcare worker dons protective gear before entering an Ebola treatment center in the west of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
FILE - a healthcare worker dons protective gear before entering an Ebola treatment center in the west of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

France says a United Nations employee suffering from Ebola has been flown to France from Sierra Leone for treatment.

A spokesman at France's U.N. mission in New York said Sunday the worker had been transported aboard a specially equipped jet and placed in "high security" isolation at a military hospital outside Paris. The worker's name and nationality have not been disclosed.

The UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) worker is the second aid worker to receive Ebola treatment in France since the epidemic erupted in Guinea late last year and then spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

A French nurse treated in September has since made a full recovery from the virus, which has killed almost 5,000 people in West Africa.

Obama phones US troops in Africa

President Barack Obama turns to shake hands with Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, an Ebola survivor, after speaking at a White House event with American health care workers fighting Ebola, Oct. 29, 2014.
President Barack Obama turns to shake hands with Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, an Ebola survivor, after speaking at a White House event with American health care workers fighting Ebola, Oct. 29, 2014.

President Barack Obama spoke by telephone Saturday with U.S. military forces providing engineering support and construction services in the region.

A White House statement said Obama voiced his gratitude and stressed that the ongoing civilian-led, government-backed strategy to tackle Ebola on the frontlines is the most effective way to prevent further spread of the disease. He also said the strategy best protects the American public from additional cases at home.

For its part, Canada said Friday it will suspend issuing visas to residents of countries experiencing what it calls "widespread and persistent-intense transmission" of Ebola. Australia recently announced a similar move.

Ebola is spread through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. The virus causes fever, bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea.

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