The United States is now implementing all measures to stop the spread of Ebola in the country. The first Ebola-positive patient diagnosed in the U.S., Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national, died on Oct. 8 at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Following the unfortunate case of the nation's first Ebola casualty, two more individuals were confirmed to have contracted the virus: nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, the healthcare workers who looked after Duncan.

Vinson traveled by plane a day before her symptoms manifested. This prompted the urgent casefinding of over a hundred fellow passengers by federal health officials. 

The unlikely acquisition of the virus among health professionals eventually led to more stringent, transmission-prevention protocols implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in healthcare facilities. Personal Protective Equipment will now include full-body suits covering the hair and skin, double gloves, N95 respirators or powered air purifying respirator (PAPR), surgical hoods and waterproof aprons, among others. 

On Oct. 16, the World Health Organization has announced the death toll in the most Ebola-stricken countries (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia) to hit 4,546. According to Reuters, the numbers surged from the statistics documented in late July, when less than 730 people died from the disease.

To date, Forbes reported that "dozens" of people exposed to Duncan were cleared of Ebola after spending three weeks in quarantine. Yet hundreds are still being monitored.

As told by Advisory and NBC News, three patients are currently undergoing treatment in three U.S. hospitals: 1 (Ashoka Mukpo, a freelance cameran who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia) in Nebraska Medical Center, 1 (Nina Pham) in the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland) and 1 (Amber Vinson) in Emory University Hospital. Three patients have already recovered in the latter.

Discovered in 1976, the Ebola virus outbreak started in Dec. 2013 in West Africa, infecting over 9,000 people as of today. Reportedly, it all started with a child who contacted the virus in Guinea.

Meanwhile, U.S. News reported that measures aimed at controlling the virus are being strengthened overseas. The outlet counted 617 U.S. troops deployed in West Africa: 502 in Liberia and 115 in Senegal.

CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden announced on Thursday that over 1,000 of its workers have provided "logistics, staffing, communication, analytics, management and other support functions" to aid in combating the killer West African virus.

On Monday, Nigeria has been proclaimed free from Ebola. WHO Nigerian representative Rui Gama Vaz rejoiced, "This is a spectacular success story that shows to the world that Ebola can be contained, but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola."

Visit CDC for more information about the Ebola virus.