Red Cross nurse dies of Ebola in Sierra Leone

Red Cross nurse dies of Ebola in Sierra Leone
In this file photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, A child, center, stands underneath a signboard as a family home is placed under quarantine due to the Ebola virus in Port Loko, Sierra Leone. Evan as his country registered 19 new Ebola cases over a 24-hour period, Sierra Leone's president is predicting there will be zero new confirmed cases by the end of March, 2015. President Ernest Bai Koroma also predicted that his West African country -- one of three hardest hit by the outbreak -- would be Ebola-free by World Health Organization standards by May, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Duff, File)

The international Red Cross says a local employee has died of Ebola in Sierra Leone, becoming the first Red Cross worker or volunteer to succumb to the disease there.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the male nurse who worked at an Ebola treatment center in Kenema, whom it didn't identify, died Tuesday and was confirmed to have been suffering from the disease.

It said Thursday it is investigating how the man became infected and whether it happened at home or at work. The agency said 29 people who had contact with him are being monitored for symptoms.

Sierra Leone has seen 3,062 deaths attributed to Ebola in the yearlong outbreak, which has killed 8,414 in West Africa's three worst-affected countries.

© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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