An American doctor working in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola virus.

Aid organization Samaritan's Purse spokeswoman Melissa Strickland said on Saturday that Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, had tested positive for the deadly virus and was being treated at an isolation ward in a hospital in Liberia's capital Monrovia.

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Brantly, who has been working with Ebola patients since October last year as part of a post-residency program, is the aid organization's medical director for its case management center in the city.

In the organization's website, Brantly cited the importance of preparedness in dealing with the virus. He said that previous Ebola outbreaks had cost the lives of a number of healthcare workers who had caught the disease working with infected individuals.

Brantly's wife and two children who had been staying with him in Africa were currently in the U.S., Strickland said.

Last week, Patrick Sawyer, 40, a Liberian finance ministry staff, died after contracting the deadly disease, the first such confirmed case in Africa.

According to health officials, Sawyer had collapsed upon arrival at a Nigerian airport. Shortly after he was brought to a hospital, his condition had quickly deteriorated.

Health authorities concerned with the cross-border spread of the virus immediately took action.

Officials in Togo, where Sawyer's flight had a stopover, were immediately put on high alert after being informed of a possible outbreak, while nearly 50 passengers who rode with Sawyer were also being monitored for the virus but were not placed under isolation.

While health screens may be effective in detecting the virus in infected individuals, health officials say identifying it in time could be problematic, noting that the virus' incubation period ranges from two to 21 days with symptoms being similar to other illnesses like malaria and typhoid.

The virus is highly contagious and has a mortality of more than 70 percent. The infection is passed through contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals - even after they die.

There is no known cure for Ebola but chances for survival are greater with early diagnosis and treatment.

TagsEbola Virus, Kent Brantly, Patrick Sawyer, Ebola outbreak, Samaritan's Purse, Africa