Three people have been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, and five others infected in the West Africa outbreak have been treated here. But health authorities have cast a far wider net as they keep an eye on dozens of others for symptoms.
On Friday, concern even spread to a cruise ship in the Caribbean - with no sign that anyone was in danger - after a passenger who works in a Texas lab and may have handled infected specimens went into voluntary quarantine.
Here's a look at the confirmed cases and the people being watched most closely for symptoms.
Patients evacuated to the United States
Dr. Kent Brantly: Infected in Liberia while working for a Christian aid organization. Flown to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, one of four U.S. facilities with a specially equipped isolation unit for Ebola patients, on Aug. 2. Recovered after receiving an experimental drug and was released Aug. 21. He has since donated his blood to several other patients in the hope transfusions would aid in treatment.
Nancy Writebol: Infected in Liberia while working for a Christian mission. Flown to Emory on Aug. 5. Recovered after receiving an experimental drug and was released Aug. 19.
Dr. Rick Sacra: Infected in Liberia while working for a Christian mission. Flown to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, another specially equipped facility, on Sept. 5. Recovered after receiving an experimental drug and a blood transfusion from Brantly and was released Sept. 25.
Unidentified patient: A World Health Organization doctor who was infected in West Africa. Flown to Emory University Hospital on Sept. 9 and is still in treatment there. Emory said in a statement Wednesday that he or she was critically ill after arriving at Emory but is now 'well on the way to a full recovery.'
Ashoka Mukpo: Cameraman diagnosed with Ebola while working in Liberia as a freelancer for NBC News. Flown to Nebraska Medical Center on Oct. 5. Said on Twitter on Monday that he felt 'like I'm on the road to good health.'
Patients diagnosed in the United States
Thomas Eric Duncan: Liberian national who flew to Dallas on Sept. 19 and 20 to see family. Went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital with symptoms on Sept. 25 but was sent home - a mistake, the hospital acknowledged later. Went back on Sept. 28 and was confirmed positive for Ebola on Sept. 30. Died Oct. 8.
Nina Pham: Nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian who treated Duncan. Tested positive on Oct. 11. Health officials have said it is unclear how she was infected. Was flown to a National Institutes of Health facility in Bethesda, Maryland, specially equipped for Ebola, on Oct. 16.
Amber Vinson: Nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian who treated Duncan. Flew to Cleveland on Oct. 10 to plan her wedding, and back to Dallas on Oct. 13, after calling the CDC to report a slight fever and being told she was OK to fly. Tested positive Oct. 15. Flown to Emory the same day. Health officials have said it is unclear how she was infected.
Quarantined
- Four people who had contact with Duncan, including his fiancée, Louise Troh, have been ordered quarantined for 21 days by authorities in Texas and are being monitored for symptoms. That quarantine expires at the end of Sunday.
- One person in Ohio who had contact with Vinson, the nurse, is under quarantine, health officials there said Friday.
- Dr. Nancy Snyderman, the chief medical editor for NBC News, has said that she and her newsgathering team, which worked with Mukpo in Liberia, are on mandatory quarantine for 21 days. Their quarantine began as voluntary, but Snyderman said in a statement Monday that 'members of our group violated those guidelines.'
Asked not to travel
- 75 health care workers who treated Duncan at the Dallas hospital, and who are being monitored for Ebola symptoms, have been asked by authorities to agree not to take public transportation or visit public places. They are expected to comply, a spokesman for the chief executive of Dallas County said Friday.
Being monitored for symptoms
- 48 people in Dallas who had contact with Duncan when he first had symptoms are being monitored for symptoms themselves. One has passed through the 21-day monitoring period without showing symptoms. Most of the rest should pass through that period by Sunday, said David Daigle, a CDC spokesman.
- Eight or nine people who were on each flight that Vinson took, the flight to Cleveland and the return to Dallas, will probably be asked to monitor themselves for symptoms, Daigle said.
- 16 people in Ohio who had contact with Vinson, the nurse, during her trip are being monitored for symptoms. None is sick, authorities said Friday. The group of 16 includes eight who have placed themselves under quarantine.
- A laboratory supervisor from the Dallas hospital who may have handled specimens from Duncan is aboard a Carnival cruise ship in the Caribbean and is under voluntary quarantine, the State Department and the cruise line said Friday. The ship returns to Galveston, Texas, on Sunday.
- Vinson's mother, who flew to Dallas to be with her, is being monitored for symptoms and is under voluntary quarantine. Vinson's fiancé, also in Dallas, is being monitored for symptoms.
First published October 17 2014, 6:04 PM
