First diagnosed case of Ebola in the U.S.By Dana Ford, CNNUpdated 0406 GMT (1106 HKT) October 1, 2014Just WatchedCDC: First Ebola case diagnosed in U.S. replayMore Videos ...CDC: First Ebola case diagnosed in U.S. 02:59Story highlights Ambulance that transported patient was in service for two more daysCrew that transported the patient to the hospital has been isolated"I have no doubt that we'll stop this in its tracks in the U.S," CDC director says The patient recently arrived in the United States from LiberiaA patient being treated at a Dallas hospital is the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, health officials announced Tuesday.The unidentified man left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in the United States on September 20, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.At that time, the individual did not have symptoms. "But four or five days later," he began to exhibit them, Frieden said. The individual was hospitalized and isolated Sunday at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.Citing privacy concerns, health officials declined to release any details about how the patient contracted the virus or how he was being treated. "I can say he is ill. He is under intensive care," Dr. Edward Goodman of the hospital told reporters.Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosPhotos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosThe Ebola epidemic – Red Cross workers, wearing protective suits, carry the body of a person who died from Ebola during a burial in Monrovia, Liberia, on Monday, January 5. Since the epidemic started a little more than a year ago in a remote village in Guinea, the world has seen more than 8,400 deaths, according to the latest numbers from the World Health Organization. And that number is believed to be low, since there was widespread under-reporting of cases, according to WHO.Hide Caption 1 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosPauline Cafferkey, a Scottish woman diagnosed with Ebola, is put on a plane in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday, December 30. Cafferkey, a 39-year-old nurse who volunteered in Sierra Leone, was being transported to London for treatment.Hide Caption 2 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosLiberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has her temperature taken before the opening of a new Ebola clinic Tuesday, November 25, in Monrovia.Hide Caption 3 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA child who survived the Ebola virus is fed by another survivor at a treatment center on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Tuesday, November 11.Hide Caption 4 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers in Monrovia cover the body of a man suspected of dying from the Ebola virus on Friday, October 31.Hide Caption 5 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosKaci Hickox leaves her home in Fort Kent, Maine, to take a bike ride with her boyfriend on Thursday, October 30. Hickox, a nurse, recently returned to the United States from West Africa, where she treated Ebola victims. State authorities wanted her to avoid public places for 21 days -- the virus' incubation period. But Hickox, who twice tested negative for Ebola, said she would defy efforts to keep her quarantined at home.Hide Caption 6 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosCrew members at an airport in Accra, Ghana, unload supplies sent from China on Wednesday, October 29.Hide Caption 7 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth officials in Nairobi, Kenya, prepare to screen passengers arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Tuesday, October 28.Hide Caption 8 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosU.S. President Barack Obama hugs Ebola survivor Nina Pham in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday, October 24. Pham, one of two Dallas nurses diagnosed with the virus, was declared Ebola-free after being treated at a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. The other nurse, Amber Vinson (not pictured), was treated in Atlanta and also declared Ebola-free.Hide Caption 9 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, transport the body of a person who is suspected to have died of Ebola on Tuesday, October 21.Hide Caption 10 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers bury a body on the outskirts of Monrovia on Monday, October 20.Hide Caption 11 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosGarteh Korkoryah, center, is comforted during a memorial service for her son, Thomas Eric Duncan, on Saturday, October 18, in Salisbury, North Carolina. Duncan, a 42-year-old Liberian citizen, died October 8 in a Dallas hospital. He was in the country to visit his son and his son's mother, and he was the first person in the United States to be diagnosed with Ebola.Hide Caption 12 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosBoys run from blowing dust as a U.S. military aircraft leaves the construction site of an Ebola treatment center in Tubmanburg, Liberia, on Wednesday, October 15.Hide Caption 13 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosAid workers from the Liberian Medical Renaissance League stage an Ebola awareness event October 15 in Monrovia. The group performs street dramas throughout Monrovia to educate the public on Ebola symptoms and how to handle people who are infected with the virus.Hide Caption 14 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosEbola survivors prepare to leave a Doctors Without Borders treatment center after recovering from the virus in Paynesville, Liberia, on October 12.Hide Caption 15 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA woman crawls toward the body of her sister as a burial team takes her away for cremation Friday, October 10, in Monrovia. The sister had died from Ebola earlier in the morning while trying to walk to a treatment center, according to her relatives.Hide Caption 16 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA person peeks out from the Dallas apartment where Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the United States, was staying on Friday, October 3.Hide Caption 17 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA girl cries as community activists approach her outside her Monrovia home on Thursday, October 2, a day after her mother was taken to an Ebola ward.Hide Caption 18 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA health official uses a thermometer Monday, September 29, to screen a Ukrainian crew member on the deck of a cargo ship at the Apapa port in Lagos, Nigeria.Hide Caption 19 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosWorkers move a building into place as part of a new Ebola treatment center in Monrovia on September 28.Hide Caption 20 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosMedical staff members at the Doctors Without Borders facility in Monrovia burn clothes belonging to Ebola patients on Saturday, September 27. Hide Caption 21 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosMedics load an Ebola patient onto a plane at Sierra Leone's Freetown-Lungi International Airport on Monday, September 22.Hide Caption 22 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA few people are seen in Freetown during a three-day nationwide lockdown on Sunday, September 21. In an attempt to curb the spread of the Ebola virus, people in Sierra Leone were told to stay in their homes.Hide Caption 23 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosSupplies wait to be loaded onto an aircraft at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday, September 20. It was the largest single shipment of aid to the Ebola zone to date, and it was coordinated by the Clinton Global Initiative and other U.S. aid organizations.Hide Caption 24 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA child stops on a Monrovia street Friday, September 12, to look at a man who is suspected of suffering from Ebola.Hide Caption 25 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers in Monrovia place a corpse into a body bag on Thursday, September 4.Hide Caption 26 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosAfter an Ebola case was confirmed in Senegal, people load cars with household items as they prepare to cross into Guinea from the border town of Diaobe, Senegal, on Wednesday, September 3.Hide Caption 27 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosCrowds cheer and celebrate in the streets Saturday, August 30, after Liberian authorities reopened the West Point slum in Monrovia. The military had been enforcing a quarantine on West Point, fearing a spread of the Ebola virus.Hide Caption 28 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA health worker wearing a protective suit conducts an Ebola prevention drill at the port in Monrovia on Friday, August 29. Hide Caption 29 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosVolunteers working with the bodies of Ebola victims in Kenema, Sierra Leone, sterilize their uniforms on Sunday, August 24. Hide Caption 30 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA burial team from the Liberian Ministry of Health unloads bodies of Ebola victims onto a funeral pyre at a crematorium in Marshall, Liberia, on Friday, August 22.Hide Caption 31 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosDr. Kent Brantly leaves Emory University Hospital on Thursday, August 21, after being declared no longer infectious from the Ebola virus. Brantly was one of two American missionaries brought to Emory for treatment of the deadly virus.Hide Caption 32 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosAn Ebola Task Force soldier beats a local resident while enforcing a quarantine on the West Point slum on August 20.Hide Caption 33 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosLocal residents gather around a very sick Saah Exco, 10, in a back alley of the West Point slum on Tuesday, August 19. The boy was one of the patients that was pulled out of a holding center for suspected Ebola patients after the facility was overrun and closed by a mob on August 16. A local clinic then refused to treat Saah, according to residents, because of the danger of infection. Although he was never tested for Ebola, Saah's mother and brother died in the holding center.Hide Caption 34 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA burial team wearing protective clothing retrieves the body of a 60-year-old Ebola victim from his home near Monrovia on Sunday, August 17. Hide Caption 35 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosWorkers prepare the new Ebola treatment center on August 17.Hide Caption 36 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosLiberian police depart after firing shots in the air while trying to protect an Ebola burial team in the West Point slum of Monrovia on August 16. A crowd of several hundred local residents reportedly drove away the burial team and their police escort. The mob then forced open an Ebola isolation ward and took patients out, saying the Ebola epidemic is a hoax.Hide Caption 37 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA crowd enters the grounds of an Ebola isolation center in the West Point slum on August 16. The mob was reportedly shouting, "No Ebola in West Point."Hide Caption 38 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA health worker disinfects a corpse after a man died in a classroom being used as an Ebola isolation ward Friday, August 15, in Monrovia.Hide Caption 39 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth workers in Kenema screen people for the Ebola virus on Saturday, August 9, before they enter the Kenema Government Hospital.Hide Caption 40 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosAid worker Nancy Writebol, wearing a protective suit, gets wheeled on a gurney into Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on August 5. A medical plane flew Writebol from Liberia to the United States after she and her colleague Dr. Kent Brantly were infected with the Ebola virus in the West African country. Hide Caption 41 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosMembers of Doctors Without Borders adjust tents in the isolation area in Kailahun on July 20.Hide Caption 42 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosBoots dry in the Ebola treatment center in Kailahun on July 20.Hide Caption 43 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosDr. Jose Rovira of the World Health Organization takes a swab from a suspected Ebola victim in Pendembu, Sierra Leone, on Friday, July 18.Hide Caption 44 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosRed Cross volunteers disinfect each other with chlorine after removing the body of an Ebola victim from a house in Pendembu on July 18.Hide Caption 45 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosA scientist separates blood cells from plasma cells to isolate any Ebola RNA and test for the virus Thursday, April 3, at the European Mobile Laboratory in Gueckedou, Guinea.Hide Caption 46 of 47Photos: The Ebola epidemic 47 photosHealth specialists work Monday, March 31, at an isolation ward for patients at the facility in southern Guinea.Hide Caption 47 of 47EXPAND GALLERYJust WatchedCNN reporter talks about covering Ebola replayMore Videos ...CNN reporter talks about covering Ebola 03:12PLAY VIDEOJust WatchedSanjay Gupta explains Ebola virus replayMore Videos ...Sanjay Gupta explains Ebola virus 02:05PLAY VIDEOJust WatchedCDC: We will stop Ebola in its tracksreplayMore Videos ...CDC: We will stop Ebola in its tracks 01:01PLAY VIDEOFrieden declined to answer whether the patient is a U.S. citizen. He also declined to say, clearly, whether the patient is a man, although he referred to the person as "he" on multiple occasions."The patient was visiting family members and staying with family members who live in this country," he said at a news conference.However, the city of Dallas in a news release said the patient "moved to Dallas from Liberia a week ago."The patient is believed to have had a handful of contacts with people after showing symptoms of the virus, and before being isolated, Frieden said. A CDC team was en route to Texas to help investigate those contacts, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be in Dallas on Wednesday to hold a news conference. Crew members who transported the patient to the hospital have been isolated, the chief of staff for Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told CNN. None have shown symptoms of the disease so far.The ambulance that carried the patient - ambulance # 37 --- was in use for two days after the transport but was adequately decontaminated, said Dallas city spokeswoman Sana Syed. "I do want to stress that the paramedics followed national standards, as they do after each transport, in decontaminating the ambulance," she said. "The Dallas County health department has confirmed that paramedics did follow proper guidelines to avoid contaminating additional patients."Frieden, too, sought to play down the risk to public health. There are currently no other suspected cases of Ebola in Texas."It's a severe disease, which has a high-case fatality rate, even with the best of care, but there are core, tried and true public health interventions that stop it," Frieden said."The bottom line here is that 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 said.According to the CDC, Ebola causes viral hemorrhagic fever, which can affect multiple organ systems in the body and is often accompanied by bleeding.Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat, each of which can be easily mistaken early on for other ailments like malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis.Ebola is spread by direct contact with someone sick with the virus. That means people on the patient's flight are not thought to be at risk, as he did not begin to show symptoms until several days after arriving in the United States, Frieden said.He spoke about what's being done at airports to help stop the spread of the disease."One of the things that CDC has done in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Lagos, is to work with the airports' authority so 100% of the individuals getting on planes are screened for fever," the director said. "And if they have a fever, they are pulled out of the line, assessed for Ebola and don't fly unless Ebola is ruled out." He added, however: "As long as there continue to be cases in West Africa, the reality is that patients travel, individuals travel, and, as appears to have happened in this case, individuals may travel before they have any symptoms."How the virus spreadsEbola virus: 9 things to know about the killer diseaseA number of other Americans have been diagnosed with the disease in West Africa and then brought to the United States for treatment.The Ebola outbreak has been centered in the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, though there have been concerns about international air travel and other factors -- including the fact the symptoms might not appear until two to 21 days after one is infected -- may contribute to its spread.More than 3,000 people in West Africa have died after being infected with Ebola, according to a World Health Organization report from last week. The same report stated that there had been 6,553 cases of the virus overall, though the number is suspected to be much higher, given difficulties in tracking and reporting the disease.The reason Ebola isn't being stopped"I have no doubt that we'll stop this in its tracks in the U.S. But I also have no doubt that as long as the outbreak continues in Africa, we need to be on our guard," said Frieden.Ebola outbreakHow the world reacted as Ebola spreadThe largest Ebola epidemic in history began with the simple act of caring for a child. Soon, it spread from the remote village in Guinea.Countries with travel restrictionsThe worst-ever outbreak of Ebola virus is stretching the medical capacities of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.Who is patient zero?Before the deaths soared into the thousands, before the outbreak triggered global fears, Ebola struck a toddler named Emile Ouamouno. The messy truth about EbolaWhat happens when you get Ebola? CNN's Miguel Marquez explains.Millions of vaccines planned by 2015 Health experts are fast-tracking tests for various vaccines, and hope to have millions of experimental doses by next year.How the Ebola virus spreadsEbola is a scary infectious disease but the first thing you should know is that it's not very contagious. Here is how it spreads.What you need to knowThese questions and answers will give you the latest information on the deadly virus and what's being done to stop its spread.3 with Ebola will fly each monthUp to three Ebola-infected travelers might board an international flight each month in West Africa, according to a new study, and potentially spread the deadly virus.Why some survive, some don'tThere's no cure for Ebola. So why have some patients walked away healthy while others in the West died? Inside the world's worst outbreakA doctor at a government-run Ebola treatment center in Monrovia is too busy to mince words.Stigmatized, abandoned orphansTwo children orphaned by Ebola play in the empty corner of a Liberian orphanage. Their parents died last month, and none of the extended family is willing to claim them. Five ways the CDC got it wrongPublic health experts are asking whether the CDC is partly to blame for problems with Ebola in the U.S. Here are 5 things they say the CDC is getting wrong.Can pets get or spread Ebola? The lack of solid protocol on what to do with Ebola victims' pets and what little is known about the risk has caused one dog to be euthanized and another quarantined. A look at Ebola protective gearRosie Tomkins takes a look at the protective suits that are worn by some Ebola medical workers in Africa.How hospitals handle Ebola patientsWhat's the protocol for health care workers if they suspect a patient has the virusEbola outbreak in West AfricaClick through our gallery as we track the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Complete coverage on EbolaA look at CNN's complete coverage on the Ebola crisis. More from healthFour-month-old baby gets measles, are others infected?El amor ¿duele?
How the world reacted as Ebola spreadThe largest Ebola epidemic in history began with the simple act of caring for a child. Soon, it spread from the remote village in Guinea.
Countries with travel restrictionsThe worst-ever outbreak of Ebola virus is stretching the medical capacities of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Who is patient zero?Before the deaths soared into the thousands, before the outbreak triggered global fears, Ebola struck a toddler named Emile Ouamouno.
Millions of vaccines planned by 2015 Health experts are fast-tracking tests for various vaccines, and hope to have millions of experimental doses by next year.
How the Ebola virus spreadsEbola is a scary infectious disease but the first thing you should know is that it's not very contagious. Here is how it spreads.
What you need to knowThese questions and answers will give you the latest information on the deadly virus and what's being done to stop its spread.
3 with Ebola will fly each monthUp to three Ebola-infected travelers might board an international flight each month in West Africa, according to a new study, and potentially spread the deadly virus.
Why some survive, some don'tThere's no cure for Ebola. So why have some patients walked away healthy while others in the West died?
Inside the world's worst outbreakA doctor at a government-run Ebola treatment center in Monrovia is too busy to mince words.
Stigmatized, abandoned orphansTwo children orphaned by Ebola play in the empty corner of a Liberian orphanage. Their parents died last month, and none of the extended family is willing to claim them.
Five ways the CDC got it wrongPublic health experts are asking whether the CDC is partly to blame for problems with Ebola in the U.S. Here are 5 things they say the CDC is getting wrong.
Can pets get or spread Ebola? The lack of solid protocol on what to do with Ebola victims' pets and what little is known about the risk has caused one dog to be euthanized and another quarantined.
A look at Ebola protective gearRosie Tomkins takes a look at the protective suits that are worn by some Ebola medical workers in Africa.
How hospitals handle Ebola patientsWhat's the protocol for health care workers if they suspect a patient has the virus
Ebola outbreak in West AfricaClick through our gallery as we track the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
