Chicago health official reassures public on Ebola in U.S.

The first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. has the head of the Chicago Department of Public Health assuring people the virus doesn't pose a significant risk to the general public.

Dr. Bechara Choucair says her department has been working for more than a month with health care workers to "ensure they are aware of diagnostic, testing, reporting and infection control recommendations."

Ebola symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, vomiting and bleeding, and can appear as long as 21 days after exposure to the virus. The disease isn't contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.

A patient who recently traveled from Liberia to Dallas is critically ill and has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday.