Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Tuesday afternoon a patient at an Arlington, Texas health center tested positive for the Ebola virus — the first case diagnosed in the U.S.
"We received in our laboratory today specimens from the individual, tested them and they tested positive for Ebola," CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a news conference. "The state of Texas also operates a laboratory that found the same results."
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas said Monday that person was put into isolation "based on the patient’s symptoms and recent travel history."
The World Health Organization reports the Ebola virus has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa and health experts previously predicted the outbreak could spread to the U.S., but health officials have reiterated that there will not be an outbreak stateside because of the country's health infrastructure.
Frieden said Tuesday the next steps will be to safely care for the patient, identify all the people that might've made contact with the patient and monitor those individuals for up to 21 days.
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