U.S confirms its first Ebola case
Digital Reporter
Wednesday, October 1, 2014, 4:44 PM - A patient in a Texas hospital has tested positive for Ebola virus. It is the first case diagnosed in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
A CDC doctor told reporters that the patient had recently traveled to Liberia, one of the hot spots for the disease.
The patient departed Liberia on September 19, arriving in the U.S. the following day. Symptoms developed on September 24, with the patient seeking medical treatment two days later.
The patient was admitted to a Dallas hospital on September 28.
Dr. Friedman of the CDC said that testing for the virus is "highly accurate."
RELATED: Why is Ebola so deadly?
"The bottom line here is I have no doubt that we will control this importation, or this case of Ebola, so that it does not spread widely in this country," he told the CBC.
"But there is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here."
So far, there have been no confirmed cases of Ebola being contracted in the United States.
WHAT IS EBOLA?
The Ebola virus is a "severe, often fatal illness, with a case fatality rate of up to 90 [percent]," The World Health Organization says on its website.
"It is one of the world’s most virulent diseases. The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people. Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care."
Health workers, family members of infected patients and people in close contact with sick or deceased patients are at the greatest risk of becoming infected.