--- title: Circle of Possible Ebola Contacts Growing in Dallas description: The number of people being monitored for Ebola symptoms in Dallas has grown to more than 80 canonical: https://time.com/3456050/ebola-texas/ author: Alex Altman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-02T15:12:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:03:16.586Z article:section: Health og:title: Circle of Possible Ebola Contacts Growing in Dallas og:description: The number of people being monitored for Ebola symptoms in Dallas has grown to more than 80 og:url: https://time.com/3456050/ebola-texas/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt776508c452c21b72/6986a694f983e7e2a204ffe6/ebola-texas1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Texas Hospital Patient Confirmed As First Case Of Ebola Virus Diagnosed In US og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Circle of Possible Ebola Contacts Growing in Dallas twitter:description: The number of people being monitored for Ebola symptoms in Dallas has grown to more than 80 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt776508c452c21b72/6986a694f983e7e2a204ffe6/ebola-texas1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:02 video:published: 2014-08-07 section: health topics: Ebola, infectious disease, West Africa outbreak, supportive care, antibodies, vaccines and drugs, pharmaceutical incentives, patient evacuation, viral transmission, bodily fluids genre: explainer, news Q&A tones: informative, reassuring, clear, measured emotions: concern (medium), reassurance (medium), curiosity (low) sentiment: neutral audience: general news readers, health-curious viewers, Americans concerned about Ebola, healthcare workers people: Alexandra Sifferlin organizations: TIME, pharmaceutical companies content_suitability: health controversy [00:49-01:10]; death [00:00-00:10]; disasters [00:00-00:07] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # 4 People Quarantined Over Ebola Fears, About 100 More Being Assessed > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=899a35aa-9575-4021-875e-26c861257c8a&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 5 Ebola Questions You're Wondering About [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Ebola Questions You're Wondering About](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9QwqrSi9.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2014-08-07. TIME Health Reporter Alexandra Sifferlin explains why there's no cure for Ebola, how infected patients are treated, and more common questions about the disease._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary TIME health reporter Alexandra Sifferlin answers five common questions about Ebola as the virus spreads in West Africa. She explains that there is currently no cure, so doctors provide supportive care such as monitoring heart rate, blood pressure and fluids. She covers how some patients survive through their own antibodies, why there is no vaccine or drug yet, how Americans with Ebola are evacuated, and how the disease is transmitted. ## Key points - The Ebola virus is ravaging West Africa and has taken at least 800 lives. (00:00) - Currently, doctors can only provide supportive care, such as monitoring heart rate and blood pressure and replenishing fluids. (00:18) - People who survive Ebola produce enough antibodies to neutralize the virus, and their immune system eventually clears it. (00:34) - Experimental drugs and vaccines are under development, but Ebola is relatively rare, so there has been little financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to fund them. (00:50) - Medical groups use specially equipped planes with medical equipment and isolation units to evacuate and transport people with very infectious diseases. (01:14) - Doctors accompanying evacuated patients wear full body suits to protect themselves. (01:27) - The only way to contract Ebola is through direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood, vomit, semen and sweat. (01:36) - With proper protection and equipment, being infected with Ebola is highly unlikely. (01:46) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:10] Introduction to Ebola questions. The reporter introduces the outbreak in West Africa and says five common questions will be answered. - [00:10 to 00:34] Treating patients without a cure. Supportive care is explained, and the reporter describes how some patients survive through antibodies. - [00:34 to 01:14] Why no vaccine or drug yet. The reporter explains that experimental treatments exist but lack financial incentive for development. - [01:14 to 01:33] Evacuating Americans with Ebola. Specially equipped planes and full body suits are described for transporting infected patients. - [01:33 to 02:02] Risk of contracting Ebola in the U.S.. Transmission through bodily fluids is explained, and the reporter notes infection is unlikely with protection, then points viewers to more coverage. ## Key quotes - [00:04] Alexandra Sifferlin: "taking at least 800 lives and leaving behind a lot of confusion." - [00:22] Alexandra Sifferlin: "like monitoring their heart rate, and blood pressure, and making sure their fluids are replenished." - [01:03] Alexandra Sifferlin: "there hasn't been a financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to put a lot of funding into these drugs." - [01:36] Alexandra Sifferlin: "The only way to contract the disease is through direct contact with bodily fluids" - [01:46] Alexandra Sifferlin: "With proper protection and equipment, being infected with the disease is highly unlikely." ## Questions this video answers - If there's no vaccine and cure for Ebola, what are doctors doing to treat infected patients? [00:10] - If there's no cure for Ebola, how are some people surviving? [00:34] - Why is there no vaccine or drug for Ebola? [00:50] - How can Americans with Ebola be evacuated back to the U.S.? [01:10] - What are my chances of getting Ebola in the U.S.? [01:33] ## Content suitability - health controversy [00:49-01:10]: Discusses lack of pharmaceutical investment in Ebola treatments, a point that may be sensitive. - death [00:00-00:10]: References at least 800 deaths from the outbreak. - disasters [00:00-00:07]: Describes an ongoing disease outbreak ravaging West Africa.  by [Alex Altman/Dallas](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman/Dallas Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Oct 2, 2014 3:12 PM UTC Health officials in the US are using a method known as contact tracing, to see who is at risk from Ebola.  by [Alex Altman/Dallas](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman/Dallas Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Oct 2, 2014 3:12 PM UTC _Updated 3:08 p.m. ET_ Health officials in Dallas were assessing about 100 people for possible contact with the Ebola virus Thursday, while four family members of the Texas hospital patient diagnosed with the disease were placed under quarantine Wednesday night to stem its potential spread. Thomas Eric Duncan’s close family members, who spent time with Duncan in an apartment near the north Dallas hospital where he is now battling the virus, received hand-delivered orders from Texas and Dallas County officials not to leave the apartment or to receive visitors without approval until at least Oct. 19, the end of the virus’s 21-day incubation period. The order was given after health officials grew worried about their ability to carry out necessary monitoring of the family members, which includes twice-daily check-ups to take the individuals’ temperatures. Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, cited “concern about our ability to be confident that monitoring was going to take place the way we needed it to take place.” The order is being enforced by a law enforcement official stationed outside the apartment. The quarantined family members have taken rudimentary measures to prevent themselves from exposure to the disease, including placing Duncan’s bedding and clothing in a trash bag, said health officials. The officials said they have been working to arrange a professional cleaning service for the family, which is receiving deliveries of groceries. “There is no perfect response,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. “People are doing their best here.” Duncan remains in “serious” condition, according to a spokesperson for the hospital, Texas Health Presbyterian. He is being kept in a private ward under the care of top doctors. Duncan has access to a phone to communicate with family members, but is not allowed to receive visitors. Operations elsewhere in the hospital are unaffected. The number of people being assessed for Ebola symptoms swelled overnight as local, state and federal officials scrambled to compile a list of anyone who had immediate or indirect contact with Duncan, the first person to develop Ebola in the United States. None of the people being monitored have exhibited any signs of the virus. Of the roughly 100 people on the list of individuals being assessed for possible contact with the virus, only a “handful” are thought to have had potential exposure, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are no plans to isolate additional people, officials said. Health officials will use a technique known as contact tracing to identify the circle of people who are potentially at risk. It involves finding everyone who came into close contact with the patient and then interviewing them to identify additional potential contacts, who are subsequently tracked down and interviewed themselves. This form of shoe-leather epidemiology will continue until officials are confident that no one is at risk for contracting or spreading the virus, health officials said. Compiling a list of possible contacts is the preliminary phase of a technique known as contact tracing. The contact tracing will be carried out by a team of five epidemiologists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in concert with county and state health officials. The process involves both phone calls and in-person visits, during which interviews are conducted and possible contacts are provided with information about the virus and informed about best practices to prevent its spread. Health officials will check in with those contacts daily to monitor for symptoms of the virus, which include high fever, severe headache, vomiting and diarrhea. It is no surprise the tally of possible contacts has grown. Health officials are casting a very wide net, and the number of people on the list of possible contacts is expected to shrink dramatically as the investigation continues and contacts are divided into high-risk, low-risk and no risk categories, health officials said. The majority of people being monitored did not necessarily have contact with Duncan himself, but rather with someone who Duncan encountered. “No one is symptomatic as of yet,” said Erikka Neroes, a spokeswoman for Dallas County Health and Human Services, “either in the first group or that second group.” Apart from the four family members under quarantine, all the people being monitored are able to move freely. Ebola is not contagious until a person shows symptoms of the virus. Health officials are not ruling out the possibility that more Ebola cases will emerge, but they say they are confident in their ability to contain the situation. While extremely deadly, Ebola is difficult to transmit. It is communicated through bodily fluids like vomit or blood, but cannot travel through the air. “The bottom line here is we remain confident that we can contain any spread of Ebola within the US,” said Frieden. Still, he added, “there could be additional cases.” ## Transcript [00:00] The Ebola virus is ravaging West Africa, taking at [00:04] least 800 lives and leaving behind a lot of confusion. [00:07] Here are five common questions about the disease. [00:10] Number one, if there's no vaccine and cure for Ebola ,. [00:15] What are doctors doing to treat infected patients? [00:18] Currently, doctors can only provide supportive care [00:22] like monitoring their heart rate, and blood pressure, [00:24] and making sure their fluids are replenished. This will [00:27] hopefully help sustain infected patients through the [00:31] disease. If there's no cure for Ebola, how are some [00:34] people surviving? When someone is infected with the [00:37] virus, the body produces antibodies to fight it. People [00:41] who have survived Ebola have produced enough [00:44] antibodies to neutralize the virus and eventually, their [00:46] immune system will clear it. Number three, why is [00:50] there no vaccine or drug for Ebola? There are currently [00:53] experimental drugs and vaccines under development. [00:56] But since Ebola is a relatively rare disease compared [01:00] to others, there hasn't been a financial incentive for [01:03] pharmaceutical companies to put a lot of funding into [01:06] these drugs. Number four. How can Americans [01:10] with Ebola be evacuated back to the U. S .? There are [01:14] certain plains that medical groups use to evacuate and [01:17] transport people with very infectious diseases. The [01:20] plains can be equipped with medical equipment, as [01:23] well as units to isolate patients from doctors. Doctors [01:27] accompanying patients will wear full body suits to keep [01:30] themselves protected. Number 5, what are my [01:33] chances of getting Ebola in the U. S .? [ MUSIC ] The [01:36] only way to contract the disease is through direct [01:38] contact with bodily fluids, which can include blood, [01:42] vomit, semen, and yes, even sweat. With proper [01:46] protection and equipment, being infected with the [01:48] disease is highly unlikely. For more answers to your [01:51] questions about Ebola and to follow Time's coverage of [01:54] the disease, visit time. com / ebola. 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