MONROVIA, Liberia, July 27 (UPI) -- Two U.S. aid workers in Liberia have tested positive for the Ebola virus in what health officials in west Africa are calling the deadliest outbreak of the disease ever.
Both Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly were working in Liberia with Samaritan's Purse to treat Ebola victims when they were diagnosed with the virus last week, the organization said in a statement.
Writebol is an aid worker with the Serving in Mission group, which was partnered with Samaritan's Purse. Brantly worked directly with Samaritan's Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Monrovia.
Writebol and her husband, David Writebol, had been living in Liberia since August 2013 and are originally from Charlotte, N.C.
Brantly, 33, of Fort Worth, Texas, began feeling ill last week and quarantined himself when he recognized the symptoms. He had been living in Liberia since October.
As of June 30, the World Health Organization says some 1,093 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are believed to have been infected with Ebola with 660 deaths. Testing has confirmed 786 cases with 442 deaths.
