Monrovia, October 23 (RHC) -– A new Cuban medical contingent has arrived in Liberia to fight Ebola. It joins 165 other staff from the Caribbean island already deployed in Sierra Leone to deal with the spread of the deadly virus.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry said the 51-member team is made up of doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, intensive care doctors, general practitioners, surgeons, pediatricians, intensive care nurses, anesthetists and licensed nurses.

Jorge Fernando Lefebre Nicolas, the Cuban ambassador to Liberia, emphasized that the arrival signaled his government's strong solidarity with Liberia.

He added that Cuba's commitment was geared towards enhancing the existing ties between both countries and acknowledged that the move would mark the start of medical co-operation between Cuba and Liberia.

The Cuban doctors are expected to be assigned to a newly constructed unit at the unfinished Defense Ministry facility in Congo Town.

Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, Liberia's Foreign Minister, said he was delighted over the arrival of the doctors and that he hoped the development would also help in strengthening the country's health service. Another group of around 40 doctors from Cuba also arrived in neighboring Guinea.

The worst Ebola outbreak on record has already killed more than 4,500 people, most of them in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.