The United States army is sending out 1,000 additional troops to West Africa to assist in the battle against the Ebola virus.

Pentagon Press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said the number of troops to be deployed could still go up.

Initially, President Barack Obama had ordered the deployment of 3,000 troops to help buil hospitals, treatment centers and labs, and to provide logistics support to Ebola-affected African nations.

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The new batch of deployment will come from various Army posts around the U.S., and will include civil affairs experts, engineers, logistics and military police officers.

The deployed troops will be regularly observed during their time of deployment and will be screened for the Ebola virus when they return to the US, Kirby said.

A protocol is being developed by the Pentagon for troops that may be exposed to Ebola, Kirby said. They will be kept an eye on continually for 21 straight days.

The new batch of soldiers will be deployed later this month and could stay in West Africa until November or longer, according to an Army statement.

Currently, there are 231 U.S. troops deployed in West Africa, most of whom are stationed in Liberia.

The announcement of the deployment came as an apartment in Texas where an Ebola patient resided was being decontaminated. Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan made his way from Africa to Dulles airport in the U.S. capital, on to Dallas, prompting questions as to how the U.S. can remain safe from the epidemic.

TagsWest Africa