he first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States is receiving treatment while isolated in a Texas hospital, but what does such isolation involve, and how exactly do doctors ensure the deadly virus doesn't spread to others?
Experts say that hospitals routinely isolate patients with infectious diseases, and the type of isolation required for an Ebola patient would be the same as what is already done for hospital patients with the flu or meningitis.
Yesterday, health officials announced that a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas tested positive for the Ebola virus and was in isolation. The man recently flew to the United States from West Africa, a region that is currently experiencing the worst outbreak of Ebola in history. The man has been identified as Thomas Eric Duncan, a resident of Liberia, according to the New York Times.