The director of the Illinois Department of Public Health says that the state is prepared to handle an Ebola outbreak, if there should ever be one.
Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck today outlined Illinois' public health systems and preparedness efforts.
Among the Public Health Department's plans are tracing an infected person's contact with others and creating an emergency hotline.
There are currently no cases or suspected cases of Ebola in Illinois.
Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that 5 US airports, including Chicago's O'Hare International, will implement screening procedures for travelers from Ebola-affected countries.
Those countries are Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, on the western coast of Africa.
Ebola is not an airborne infection. It is spread through direct contact with an infected person's blood or body fluids, including spit, vomit, feces and others.