The United States has authorized the deployment of 1,400 soldiers to Liberia to aid in the fight against Ebola, according to a Pentagon statement released on Tuesday.

The soldiers are expected to leave for the Ebola-stricken region later this month as part of the country's humanitarian mission called "Operation United Assistance."

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The mission will provide for the construction of 17 hospitals and a facility for infected health care workers, said Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky of the army's 101^st Airborne Division. Troops will also assist the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Liberia.

Half of the troops will come from the 101^st Airborne Division while the other half, mostly comprised of combat engineers, will be culled from across all army units, said Pentagon spokesperson Rear Adm. John Kirby.

The 1,400 soldiers will be the first of the 3,000 the U.S. plans to send to West Africa this fall and join an aid force of over 300 American government personnel including 200 military staff, 28 USAID employees and more than 100 Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) workers, said Kaiser Foundation associate director for global health policy Josh Michaud.

Brian DeSantis, spokesperson for the 101^st Airborne Division said the military was also tasked with training the aid workers in the region, noting that the programs would train up to 500 workers a week.

He stressed that all deploying soldiers will undergo training to safeguard against Ebola infection before leaving for Liberia.

The Ebola epidemic has mostly been contained in Senegal and Nigeria but continues to worsen in Sierra Leone and Liberia, said National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease deputy director Steve Monroe on Tuesday.

According to the World Health Organization, over 7,000 infections and 3,338 deaths have been linked to the Ebola virus since December. The CDC has estimated the figure could reach up to 1.4 million by January if uncontrolled.

On Tuesday, the CDC confirmed the first case of an American diagnosed in the U.S. to have contracted the deadly disease. The man had reportedly arrived from Liberia last month and is currently in intensive care at the Texas Health Presbyterian hospital.

TagsHealth Medical Pharma, medicine, Microbiology, United States Agency for International Development