Latest cases prompt clarification: Ebola can be spread by sneezing, coughing to people 3 to 6 feet away

(Photo: European Commission DG ECHO/Flickr/Creative Commons)

By Miriam Raftery

October 2, 2014 (Dallas)--The first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. occurred this week in Texas, where the patient was initially sent home from a hospital.  A search is underway for about 100 people in the Dallas area who may have been exposed to the Ebola patient, who had traveled here from Liberia.  Dallas officials sent a reverse emergency call to 11,000 area residents to warn them about the situation, including parents at four schools  where several exposed children attended class. Four family members have now been placed in quarantine:  http://abcnews.go.com/Health/texas-Ebola-patients-contacts-now-reach-100/story?id=25912405   United Airlines has also contacted patients who were onboard the flight, though it is not believed the patient was contagious yet while on board.