Thomas Duncan, the person said to be infected with Ebola virus has traveled from Liberia to US. Now, it is confirmed that this is the first case of Ebola in US. Fifty people who were in contact with Duncan are now under observation - 10 of whom are considered at high risk.
The US Government said there's no reason for the public to be alarmed. According to The Hill, leaders responsible for the health, as well as defense and military branches, of the country are doing the necessary steps to ensure that the spread of the virus is contained.
Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, said in a press conference, "We know how to do this, and we will do it again. It's very important to remind the American people that U.S. has the most capable healthcare system and the most capable doctors in the world - bar none."
According to ABC News, people who may have been exposed to Ebola virus are requested to stay at home for 21 days - the incubation period. They are monitored for fever and other symptoms each day by public health workers. Signs may be observed anywhere from second to 21st day. But the typical range is 8 to 10 days.
Hospitals now have a checklist on what to do when a person, who is likely to experience Ebola symptoms, arrives in the hospital. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made this particular action in response to what happened in the case of Duncan, who disclosed in a Dallas emergency room last week that he came from Liberia but it didn't relate this information to the doctors who diagnosed him with low-risk infection. By Sunday of the same week, he came back to the said hospital in an ambulance, was isolated and confirmed to have been infected with Ebola virus.
