CDC Confirms First Case of Ebola Diagnosed in US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. The unidentified man is presently being treated at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

The patient left Liberia in West Africa on Sept. 19 and arrived the next day in the United States, said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden.

The patient did not have any symptoms of the disease at the time of his arrival, Frieden said. However, he exhibited symptoms four days later and was admitted to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday.

The patient has been placed in isolation and is still critically ill. Frieden assured that the administration would take every step possible to ensure that the virus would not spread in the country.

"The bottom line here is that I have no doubt we will control this importation, or this case of Ebola, so that it does not spread widely in this country," Frieden said at a news conference.

"It is certainly possible that someone who had contact with this individual, a family member or other individual, could develop Ebola in the coming weeks," he added. "But there is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here," Frieden said, reports the Associated Press.

Freiden ruled out the possibility of the patient having transmitted the disease to others s on the flight from Liberia  as he had no symptoms at the time.

However, he accepted that other people who came into contact with the patient could develop the disease.

 "It is certainly possible that someone who had contact with this individual ... could develop Ebola in the coming weeks," Frieden said, reports The Guardian.

CDC and Texas health officials are working to identify all people who came into contact with the patient while he had the infection.

When the contacts are identified, they will be monitored for 21 days to see if they develop fever, reports Fox News.

Doctors at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital are discussing different treatment options for the patient including experimental therapies.