First US Ebola case confirmed
The first case of the Ebola virus in the United States has been confirmed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The diagnosed patient is being kept in strict isolation at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas.
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A CDC spokesman told media the man returned to the US from Liberia on the 20th of September and began developing Ebola-like symptoms days later.
He said the CDC would now be working to identify all people who had come into contact with the man.
“It is certainly possible that someone who had contact with this individual could develop Ebola in the coming weeks,” he said.
“The bottom line here is that I have no doubt that we will control this importation of ebola so that it does not spread widely in this country.”
“Remember, Ebola does not spread from someone who is not infectious,” he said.
It is unclear how the man contracted the virus.
Ebola has so far claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people in West Africa, with countries like Nigeria and Sierra Leone declaring a state of emergency in an attempt to control the outbreak.