The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) confirms that one of its international staff members in Sierra Leone has been diagnosed with Ebola hemorrhagic fever.
The staff member, a Norwegian national on assignment in the city of Bo, was placed in isolation on Sunday, October 5, after developing a fever. Laboratory tests confirmed Ebola infection.
Following MSF medical evacuation procedures, the staff member will soon be transferred to a specialised treatment center in Europe.
“Staff being dispatched to Ebola affected regions follow very strict safety procedures before, during and after their assignment” said Brice de le Vingne, MSF Director of operations. “Despite these extremely strict protocols of protection, risk is unfortunately part of such an intervention, and sadly our teams are not spared”
The circumstances under which the contamination took place have not been yet been determined. An investigation is underway by MSF, under standard management procedures for such events.
For reasons of medical confidentiality, and to preserve the privacy of its staff member and the family, MSF will not provide any further comment at this time.
MSF has been responding to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa since March 2014. Close to 3,000 MSF staff are working in the region, including some 250 international staff.
