Second US Ebola infection

The health care worker was immediately isolated on Tuesday after reporting a fever. He had been caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, who was the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola outside West Africa. He was flown to the US from Liberia on September 20, initially not showing any symptoms. He later died in the Texas hospital.

Reacting to the latest case, the US Department of State Health Services said that "health officials have interviewed the latest patient to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures, and those people will be monitored."

The news comes just days after another nurse, 26-year-old Nina Pham, became the first person infected by Ebola on US soil, while caring for Duncan. She is said to be "doing well."

US President Barack Obama is set to hold a video conference on Wednesday with British, French, German and Italian leaders to discuss Ebola, according to the White House.

Victim cremated in Leipzig

Meanwhile, in Leipzig, Germany, the body of a UN employee who died of the virus there on Tuesday has been cremated for medical reasons. The 56-year-old had been sent to Leipzig's St Georg clinic for treatment on October 9. Although he was Muslim and would not normally be allowed to be cremated, the authorities went ahead with the procedure in the interests of public safety.

The World Health Organization (WHO) expects 5,000 to 10,000 new cases per week by the first week of December, it said on Tuesday. The latest death toll stands at 4,447, from 8,914 recorded infection cases, the WHO said. "Ebola got a head start on us," said Anthony Banbury, head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. "It is far ahead of us, it is running faster than us, and it is winning the race," the Briton told the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday.

The WHO has called current Ebola outbreak the most severe in modern times.

ng/glb (Reuters, dpa, AFP)