Ebola in the U.S.: What you need to know now - CBS News

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Tuesday that a patient in the U.S. has been diagnosed with the Ebola virus. Amid fear that the virus has arrived on our shores, many are asking questions about the disease and how it is transmitted.

Here's what you need to know about Ebola. The information comes from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How did Ebola get to the U.S.?

The patient diagnosed with Ebola at a Dallas hospital had recently traveled by plane from Liberia to the U.S. to visit family, the CDC said. He landed in the U.S. on Sept. 20 and began exhibiting symptoms of the virus four days later.

What do we know about the patient?

Officials did not give the patient's name, age, nationality or any details about how he may have become infected in West Africa. They said he is critically ill and has been in medical isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas since Sunday.

Are other passengers at risk?

"There is zero risk of transmission on the flight," said CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden. "Ebola doesn't spread before someone gets sick, and he didn't get sick until four days after he got off the airplane. So we don't believe there was any risk to anyone on the flight." Frieden declined to release any details about the man's itinerary or flight numbers.

What about other people in Texas?

Public health officials say they are actively tracing everyone who's been in close contact with the man since he started developing symptoms and became contagious. Those people will be monitored for 21 days, the length of the disease's incubation period, and if they develop a fever they'll be put into medical isolation.

Health officials could not rule out the possibility that other people might have been exposed. "While it is not impossible that there could be additional cases associated with this patient in the coming weeks, I have no doubt that we will contain this," Frieden said.

How is Ebola spread from person to person?

The good news is that Ebola isn't transmitted through the air. You aren't going to get Ebola if an infected person sits next to you or sneezes in the same room. The disease is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, such as blood from an infected person. The disease is only contagious when an infected person is showing symptoms.

Health care workers are particularly at risk if they are not wearing appropriate protective equipment, such as masks, gowns and gloves.

What are the symptoms of Ebola?

Ebola is a hemorrhagic virus characterized by the sudden onset of flu-like symptoms including fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. These are followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and sometimes internal and external bleeding.

Just how deadly is Ebola?

Somewhere between 50 percent and 90 percent of the people who develop Ebola will die.

What's the incubation period for Ebola?

The time from infection with the virus to the onset of symptoms ranges from two to 21 days.

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