DALLAS (AP) — Federal health officials have confirmed the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. in a patient who recently traveled from Liberia to Dallas.
Officials say the unidentified patient is critically ill and has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday.
Health authorities have begun tracking down family and friends who could be at risk for becoming ill. Officials say there are no other suspected cases in Texas.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden, says the patient left Liberia on Sept. 19, arrived in Dallas the next day to visit relatives and started feeling ill four or five days later. He says it was not clear how the person became infected.
Frieden says passengers and crew who were on the same flight are not at risk because the patient had no symptoms when he traveled. The disease is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.
Frieden said at a news conference today that he has no doubt the case will be contained.
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279-a-15-(Dr. Tom Frieden (FREE'-dehn), director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at news conference)-"entering this country"-CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says the patient who's tested positive for Ebola had no indication of illness before traveling from Liberia. (30 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *279 (09/30/14)££ 00:15 "entering this country"
278-a-11-(Dr. Tom Frieden (FREE'-dehn), director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at news conference)-"the United States"-CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says a patient being treated at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for Ebola. (30 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *278 (09/30/14)££ 00:11 "the United States"
288-a-08-(Dr. Tom Frieden (FREE'-dehn), director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at news conference)-"be at risk"-CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says the Ebola patient in Dallas could not have infected anyone before he started having symptoms. (30 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *288 (09/30/14)££ 00:08 "be at risk"
289-a-11-(Dr. Tom Frieden (FREE'-dehn), director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at news conference)-"symptoms until isolation"-CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says health officials will track the Ebola patient's contact with others after getting sick. (30 Sep 2014)
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287-a-09-(Dr. Tom Frieden (FREE'-dehn), director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at news conference)-"stop it here"-CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says the general public is not at risk because of the Ebola case in Dallas. (30 Sep 2014)
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291-a-11-(Dr. Tom Frieden (FREE'-dehn), director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at news conference)-"that stop it"-CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says U.S. health officials are confident their protocols work effectively against Ebola. (30 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *291 (09/30/14)££ 00:11 "that stop it"
APPHOTO GAJB10: Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Tom Frieden speaks during a news conference after confirming that a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has tested positive for Ebola, the first case of the disease to be diagnosed in the United States, announced Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in Atlanta. The person, an adult who was not publicly identified, developed symptoms days after returning to Texas from Liberia and showed no symptoms on the plane, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) (30 Sep 2014)
<<APPHOTO GAJB10 (09/30/14)££
