An Italian doctor in Sierra Leone, who tested positive for Ebola, will be flown to Rome to be treated for the virus, the Health Ministry said Monday.
The Associated Press reported that the doctor is Italy’s first confirmed Ebola case and will be transported to Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases.
The doctor contracted the disease while working abroad with the humanitarian group Emergency.
The Italian news agency ANSA has noted that all the necessary precautions are being taken to accommodate the doctor and that he is currently eating and drinking on his own.
"I feel I can reassure his family that the doctor is fine, had no fever or other symptoms during the night, this morning he had breakfast and continues to drink autonomously," said Italian health minister Beatrice Lorenzin.
The Ebola virus has claimed the lives of more than 5,400 people, mostly in West Africa, over the past several months. It is the worst outbreak in history and has a fatality rate of more than 50 percent.