The first case of the Ebola virus disease on US soil has been
confirmed in Dallas, Texas.
Officials at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital say the unidentified
patient is being kept in isolation.
The man is thought to have contracted the virus in Liberia before
travelling to the US nearly two weeks ago.
"An individual travelling from Liberia has been diagnosed with Ebola
in the United States," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Director Thomas Frieden told reporters on Tuesday.
According to Mr Frieden, the unnamed patient left Liberia on 19
September and arrived in the US the next day to visit relatives,
without displaying any symptoms of the virus.
Symptoms of the virus became apparent on 24 September, and on 28
September he was admitted to a Texas hospital and put in isolation.
The disease, which is not contagious until symptoms appear, is spread
via close contact with bodily fluids.
This is the first case of a patient developing the virus on US soil,
says the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Los Angeles.
Preliminary information indicates that the unnamed patient, who was
described as critically ill, was not involved in treating
Ebola-infected patients while in Liberia.
Health officials are working to identify all people who came into
contact with the unnamed patient while he was infectious.
Those people will then be monitored for 21 days to see if an
Ebola-related fever develops.
According to Mr Frieden, it is possible a family member who came in
direct contact with the patient may develop Ebola in the coming weeks.
BBC News
