Illinois suspends Ebola hotline as interest fades

Illinois health officials have suspended a telephone hotline about the Ebola virus because the number of calls to it has fallen sharply.

Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said Tuesday that anyone with questions about Ebola can contact their local health department or the state health department's communicable disease staff.

The hotline started in mid-October as public interest grew following the death in Dallas of the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. It was staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and received hundreds of calls during its first week.

There have been no Ebola cases in Illinois. A small number of travelers from Ebola-affected countries have been monitored for symptoms in Illinois, but none is sick.