DAKAR, Senegal — The World Health Organization says it is treating Senegal's first confirmed Ebola case "as a top priority emergency."

In a statement distributed Sunday, the WHO said it would address as quickly as possible Senegal's "urgent need" for support and supplies including personal protective equipment for health workers.

Senegal, a tourist and transportation hub, confirmed its first case of the deadly Ebola disease on Friday, becoming the fifth country in West Africa to be affected by an outbreak that has killed more than 1,500 people.

The patient is a 21-year-old student from Guinea who showed up at a hospital in Dakar on Aug. 26.

Authorities in Guinea had lost track of the student and alerted Senegal on Aug. 27 that he may have crossed into Senegal.