FACTBOX: Ebola cases in the United States

There have been eight cases of Ebola seen in the United States since the beginning of August. A Liberian man who died Oct 8 in a Dallas, Texas hospital was the first person diagnosed with the virus on US soil.

Two hospital employees who cared for the man have been infected with the virus, which has killed more than 4,400 people and infected nearly 9,000 in the worst outbreak on record centered in three impoverished West African countries - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The following are details of cases of the hemorrhagic fever seen in the United States:

NURSES

Nina Pham, 26, a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where she helped treat Liberian patient, Thomas Eric Duncan. Officials announced Oct 12 that Pham had been infected with the virus and two days later said she was in good condition.

A second nurse at the same hospital who treated Duncan tested positive for the disease, Texas health officials said.

A relative identified her as Amber Vinson, 29. The virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids and can cause fever, bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea.

Complicating the matter is news that the nurse flew from Ohio to Dallas the day before reporting symptoms, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, urging passengers on the Oct 13 flight to contact the agency.

NBC CAMERAMAN

Ashoka Mukpo, an American freelance television cameraman working for NBC News in Liberia, was flown out of the country for treatment at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Mukpo, 33, continues to improve. He has been treated with experimental drug brincidofovir from Chimerix Inc.

The NBC crew who worked with Mukpo have returned to the United States and have been ordered into quarantine after violating their voluntary confinement.

LIBERIAN IN DALLAS

Thomas Eric Duncan was visiting Dallas when he began feeling ill and sought treatment at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sept. 25. He was initially discharged with antibiotics, despite telling a nurse he had just come from Liberia. On Sept. 28 he returned to the same hospital by ambulance after vomiting outside the apartment complex where he was staying. Duncan died in an isolation ward 11 days later.

EMORY PATIENT

An unidentified American who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone has been treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta since Sept. 9.

In a statement on Wednesday disclosing the first public details of his condition, the patient said he was recovering and expected to be released from the hospital soon. He said he wanted to keep his identity secret for now.

THREE MISSIONARIES

Three Americans contracted Ebola while working for Christian missionary organizations in Liberia and were flown to the United States for treatment. All have recovered.

Nancy Writebol contracted the virus in July while working for a SIM USA hospital with her husband, David, who was not infected. She was treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta and discharged Aug. 19.

Dr. Kent Brantly also was treated in isolation at Emory after contracting Ebola while working for Christian relief group Samaritan's Purse. He was released on Aug. 21.

Dr. Rick Sacra, a Boston physician who was working for SIM USA, arrived in the United States on Sept. 5 and was treated for three weeks at Nebraska Medical Center.

UNDER OBSERVATION

Hospitals across the United States have been urged to watch for possible cases and to ask patients about their travels to help screen for the virus. Patients have been monitored in Maryland, Massachusetts, Kansas, Washington, Hawaii and Florida, but none tested positive for Ebola.