The Dallas Ebola Case: 5 Things to Know

Health officials on Tuesday announced the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States -- a man isolated in intensive care at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Five things to know about the case:

WHEN AND HOW IT HAPPENED

Health officials say they don't know how the man was infected but he flew from the West African country of Liberia, where the outbreak is ongoing, on Sept. 19 and arrived to visit relatives in the U.S. a day later. His symptoms started around Sept. 24, he sought medical care on the 26th but was not admitted to the hospital until Sept. 28.

Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discusses the first Ebola case in Dallas.

RISK TO FELLOW TRAVELERS

"Ebola doesn't spread till someone gets sick, and he didn't get sick for four days" after getting off the plane, so officials are not seeking out fellow passengers for signs of illness, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus does not spread through the air -- only through close contact with bodily fluids from a sick person, he stressed.

RISK TO PEOPLE IN DALLAS

Several family members and maybe a few community people are being monitored for possible risk -- "handful is the right characterization" for how many, Frieden said.

Doctors expect in the coming days they will get a lot of questions from folks concerned about the Ebola case in Dallas. NBC 5 took your questions to the experts.

HOW LONG RISK LASTS

People will be watched for fever or other possible signs for 21 days.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOU'RE AT RISK

Contact the CDC, Frieden said. State and local health officials in Texas also are working to trace any possible contacts.

OTHER COMMON QUESTIONS ANSWERED

North Texas doctors expect they will get a lot of questions in the coming days from folks concerned about the Ebola case in Dallas.

NBC 5 took your questions to the experts, including Dr. Robert Simonson, medical director for emergency services at Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

With flu season approaching, how can doctors tell the difference between the flu and Ebola? Will they isolate everyone with flu symptoms?

"No, that's physically impossible in the very beginning. You may look like you have the garden variety flu, but with Ebola, it rather aggressively and in a very short time span changes that,
from you just got the flu to you're really, really sick, high-grade fever, vomiting, diarrhea," Simonson said.

What does hospital staff wear to protect themselves from getting Ebola from patients?

"Surgical masks, booties, gowns, scrub tops with gowns over there. You want to protect yourself in every port of entry you can think of," Simonson said.

How are North Texas hospitals being proactive against Ebola?

"All the emergency rooms in town share personnel, ideas. There's an internet-based program called EM SYSTEMS which is Texas-wide. We can get on there and put anything we think might be [Ebola],” Simonson said.

NBC 5's Ray Villeda contributed to this report.

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