Reports about American doctors contracting or being at risk of developing Ebola hearken back to the 2014 outbreak in West Africa, when a patient fell ill on U.S. soil and ultimately sickened two healthcare workers.
On Sept. 28, 2014, Thomas Eric Duncan sought care for fever, vomiting, and diarrhea at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. A Liberian citizen, he was visiting family in Texas when he became sick.
About 2 weeks later, Nina Pham, RN, a nurse who cared for Duncan, tested positive for the virus and was eventually sent to the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for care.
Not long afterward, a second nurse who took care of Duncan, Amber Vinson, RN, developed the disease and was transported to Emory University in Atlanta for treatment.
Their infections marked the first known transmission of Ebola in the U.S., according to the CDC.
