Ebola fever is  a disease that touched down on American soil  Sept. 19 through Thomas Eric Duncan. 
According to a CNN report, Duncan came to the United States to visit family and friends, departing Liberia.  The report said Liberian authorities confirmed Duncan was screened for Ebola before flying, but  according to multiple sources, it is unclear how Duncan contracted the disease.  Duncan’s life fell to the disease 10 days after he was admitted to a hospital in Dallas, Texas.
The first individual to contract the disease on American soil was Nina Pham, a Texas healthcare worker who treated Duncan during his illness. According to CNN, health officials are still trying to figure out how she contracted the disease.
According to abcnews.com, 48 other Americans are being kept for close watch of symptoms of the disease. 
Mississippi State University has some expertise on the disease.
Henry Wan, associate professor of systems biology, in the department of Basic Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine, said he knows a significant amount about the Ebola disease.
“Ebola is a haemorrhagic fever disease caused by the Ebola virus,” Wan said.
According to an ABC news report, the virus has sickened 8,399 people since March and has taken the lives of 4,033 people.
Wan said the Ebola epidemic’s origination was not that of the U.S. 
“The current Ebola epidemic outbreaks originated from West Africa,” Wan said.
Wan  also said Ebola is an emerging virus transmitted to humans from wild animals. The timeline of events began in 1976 when the first cases of Ebola were discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, the worst Ebola breakout in history has been marked. 
According to the World Health Organization, an individual has a window of about 2 to 21 days between infection and the onset of symptoms.
Symptoms of the disease are the first sign a person is contagious. The unsettling symptoms include fever fatigue, muscle pain, vomiting and sore throat.
The harsher symptoms result in impaired kidney and liver function and, in some severe cases, internal and external bleeding. 
Although there is no known proven cure yet available, there are ways to  treat and protect against the disease.
“Good hygiene is the best way to protect against Ebola infections. Thorough and frequent hand washing or use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is critical,” Wan said.
Although these precautions are necessary, there have not been any known reports of Ebola cases in Starkville, Mississippi.
Wan said those who see the Ebola disease as a problem for those in Africa now have to see it as an American problem as well.
“The people at the most risk are those with close contact with Ebola patients, such as healthcare providers, the family and friends of the patients, who may be more likely to be in contact with the blood or body fluids of sick patients,” Wan said.
According to Wan, the average fatality rate is about 50 percent. 
Wan said the disease can be transmitted through bats and nonhuman primates or their blood and bodily fluids. According to Wan, one should avoid touching or eating raw meat from either of these animals.