[UPDATED] First Case of Ebola in US Confirmed at Dallas Hospital
[UPDATED: 4:09 p.m.] The Center for Disease Control has confirmed the first diagnosed case of Ebola in the United States, and it's at a Dallas hospital.
The patient had recently traveled to West Africa, where Ebola is currently widespread, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths.
This is the first diagnosed case in the U.S., though not necessarily the first time it has been here. Three patients who were previously diagnosed in Africa were treated in the U.S. when they returned home.
Ebola is not contagious through the air like the flu, but rather through bodily fluids.
"This is not Africa," said Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services. "We have a great infrastructure to deal with an outbreak."
Original Story
The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa has had America on edge recently with patients having been quarantined here after having been exposed to the virus. Now it's a possibility in Texas.
A patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas has been isolated after possibly being infected with the deadly Ebola virus, according to WFAA-TV.
The hospital said the patient was admitted with possible symptoms of the virus, and they also took into account "recent travel history." Results are still pending from the Center of Disease Control, and they should be available Tuesday (Sept. 30).
If the case is confirmed, it would be the first positive Ebola case in America.
The World Health Organization has counted more than 3,000 Ebola-related deaths across several countries in western Africa.