80 to 100 People Now Thought to Have Come Into Contact with Patient Zero

Odds are, few to none of these people were actually infect with Ebola. But the prudent thing to do is find them.

Dallas (CNN) — Health officials are reaching out to as many as 100 people who may have had contact with the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S., a federal official told CNN Thursday. These are people who are still being questioned, who may have crossed paths with the patient either at the hospital, at his apartment complex or in the community.

The number of direct contacts who have been identified right now is still closer to 12, the official said.

“By the end of the day we should have a pretty good idea of how many contacts there are,” the official said.

And as reported earlier, there may be a totally separate case in Hawaii. Obviously if that one goes hot, then we’ll have another round of hunting for people who came into contact with that person.

All of this, from one confirmed case and one possible case.