Donald Trump is tweeting that `` We should not be importing ( Ebola ) to our homeland . '' An Indiana congressman is worried that refugee children from Central America could pose a public health risk with `` Ebola circulating . '' And the Twitter-sphere is filled with people asking `` how can we bring these patients to America , '' complaining that `` We do n't have enough problems in America ! Let 's import Ebola patients ! '' and speculating that treating them here is `` highly irresponsible . '' But the actual possibility of catching Ebola is incredibly remote . It 's a terrifying disease for sure . It typically kills 90 % of the people who get it , and this most recent outbreak is the largest in history . But you do n't need to panic , experts say , and you definitely do n't have to worry about the two American Ebola patients who are being treated in Atlanta . Here are five reasons why : . 1 . It 's fragile . Ebola is an incredibly fragile virus . It does not fly through the air with the greatest of ease . It can not be transmitted through a cough or sneeze . It does n't move easily from human to human like the common cold . Ebola is aggressively infectious , so people who are infected are highly likely to get sick . But it 's not highly contagious . `` The Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with the blood , secretions or other body fluids of ill people and indirect contact -- for example , with needles and other things that may be contaminated with these fluids , '' said Stephan Monroe , deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control 's National Center for Emerging Zoonotic and Infectious Diseases . That 's why health care providers who work in countries without proper protective gear can get it . That 's also why people preparing bodies for burial have gotten it . 2 . We know how it works . Although there is no vaccine and no cure , the one real advantage we have with Ebola is that doctors know how to control it . Ebola is n't `` some mystical pathogen ( with ) some bizarre mode of transmission , '' said Bruce Ribner , who oversees the special isolation unit that is treating the patients at Emory University Hospital . Common-sense hygiene can stop its spread . `` Ebola is a virus that can be stopped and not spread in hospitals . The stakes are higher , but it 's easily inactivated with typical hospital disinfectants , '' said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden . What to know about Ebola . 3 . We have the resources to contain it . The two American patients with Ebola were flown to the United States in a plane outfitted with an isolation pod . They are being kept in isolation at the Emory hospital with a specialized containment ward , one of four in the country . In the containment ward , the vents are specialized . There 's an intercom and plate glass that separates patients from visitors so they do n't come into direct contact . There 's a strict protocol on everyone and everything that goes into and out of the patient 's room . Health care workers wear protective suits . But any major medical center could really take care of an Ebola patient , said William Schaffner , an expert on infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University 's School of Medicine . Most ICUs have isolation rooms that are used for patients suspected to have tuberculosis , SARS , Middle East respiratory syndrome or another infectious disease . Schaffner said that not much would be different for an Ebola patient , though more stringent precautions might be taken to ensure that health care workers are following all protocols . 4 . Our medical staff is ready . `` We have been training for this , '' Ribner said of preparations for the two American Ebola patients . These doctors know how to handle Ebola and will use an abundance of caution when working with an infected person . Medical workers across the country have also been told to watch out for Ebola symptoms and question patients who have recently traveled to West Africa . They are trained to recognize Ebola cases and can quarantine them early , keeping others from coming into contact with an infected person 's bodily fluids while the disease runs its course . 9 questions about this new Ebola drug . 5 . Airports are on alert . At African airports in the Ebola-affected region , passengers are being closely screened . Health experts are watching for people with high fevers . Those who have a temperature are removed and monitored while doctors test their blood for Ebola . When passengers arrive at the airport , they are required to wash their hands in a chlorinated solution . Customs agents and passport inspectors are also wearing surgical gloves when interacting with passengers . `` There is always the possibility that someone with an infectious disease can enter the United States , '' CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said Monday . `` The public health concern is whether it would spread and , if so , how quickly . ' '' What is the risk of catching Ebola on a plane ? At U.S. airports , trained federal agents also watch for sick passengers . Border patrol is asking about potential exposure . If someone is sick , agents can remove them and keep them in the special isolation units kept at many U.S. airports until the CDC arrives to ask further questions . Overall , health experts say , the threat to Americans remains relatively small . In the past decade , five people have entered the U.S. known to have a viral hemorrhagic fever , including a case in March of a Minnesota man diagnosed with Lassa fever after traveling to West Africa . No one else contracted the disease .
Ebola is aggressively infectious ; it is not highly contagious . Doctors know how it spreads and can keep contamination down . Comment: In past decade , five people known to have viral hemorrhagic fever have entered U.S .