Dallas, October 15 (RHC)-- The identity of a female nurse who is the first known person to contract the Ebola virus in the United States has been confirmed.

The family of 26-year-old Nina Pham, a nurse at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, provided the information to news agencies.

Pham contracted the virus after treating Liberian patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who succumbed to the virus last week in Dallas. Duncan had contracted the disease in Liberia a month ago and was the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.

The director for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Tom Frieden, had previously said the Dallas Ebola infection was due to a breach of safety protocols. But according to reports that came out later, Pham was wearing protective gear whenever she had contact with Duncan. She had been self-monitoring and was hospitalized upon developing Ebola-like symptoms.

On Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that a more "robust" international effort is needed to fight the Ebola crisis. Obama called Ban and agreed that the international community had to step up its effort to "decisively address the deadly Ebola epidemic," the White House said in a statement.

The Ebola virus, which has killed over 4,000 people in West Africa, spreads through direct contact with infected blood, feces or sweat. It can also spread through sexual contact or unprotected handling of contaminated corpses.