Q: What's the likelihood of a major Ebola outbreak in the United States?

A: Remote, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now that an Ebola patient has been diagnosed in Texas, health officials say the likelihood of it spreading is very low. Once an Ebola patient is identified here, says CDC Director Thomas Frieden, protocols allow doctors and health officials to quickly isolate and treat the person, and to put anyone who may have come in contact with him or her under close surveillance for 21 days, the incubation period for Ebola. If any of those people develop symptoms, the contact tracing cycle begins again.

Q: Why do we allow people with Ebola into the United States?

A: The patient who was diagnosed at a Texas hospital on Sept. 30 was not showing any symptoms of the disease until four days after arriving in the United States. Ebola is not contagious until symptoms start to show. In the cases of the three U.S. missionaries who were evacuated to American hospitals after becoming ill with Ebola, officials have said bringing them to the United States ensured that they had access to modern medical facilities and technology that helped save their lives.

Q: Are others who were in the plane or at the airport with the Texas patient in danger?

A: Officials have not revealed the flight on which the Texas patient arrived in the United States, saying there was "zero risk" of transmission to anyone else because he had no symptoms then.

Q: Might I encounter someone with Ebola at an airport?

A: Probably not. All of the affected West African nations have announced plans to screen airport passengers before they leave. That includes taking their temperatures to check for fevers. In the event that a passenger does become ill on a flight, commercial airlines have received special instructions from the CDC on how to notify the agency and effectively isolate the patient — as well as anyone who may have had contact with them — on arrival. The CDC has 20 isolation stations at major airports around the country. They are staffed 24/7 and are fully equipped to deal with an Ebola patient.

Los Angeles Times