Monrovia, 6 December 2014

Special Representative of the Secretary-General Karin Landgren made the following statement today:

The member of UNMIL military personnel who tested positive for the Ebola Virus Disease on    3 December has been evacuated from the US-run Ebola Treatment Unit in Monrovia to the Netherlands today.

I am encouraged that the medical evacuation process was organized quickly and efficiently and that the patient, who is in stable condition, will receive the best possible treatment at a Dutch medical facility. Our thoughts remain with him and his family at this difficult time.

The United Nations in Liberia continually seeks to strengthen the protection and response to Ebola among our personnel, and to prevent further transmission when our personnel become infected. In line with WHO protocols, the UNMIL Medical team has conducted immediate and robust contact tracing. As a result, 22 personnel have been isolated. All of them are currently asymptomatic. All areas where the individual is known to have been while symptomatic have also been thoroughly decontaminated.

I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to the Government of the Netherlands for accepting to treat the patient, and to the Governments of Germany and the United States for their medical and logistical support. I also wish to thank UNMIL troop and police contributors and all my colleagues for remaining steadfast in their service to Liberia and its people at this critical time.