Ebola has taken center stage recently in the news. The 2014 Ebola outbreak is affecting multiple countries in West Africa, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed the first travel-associated case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States.

While Ebola is a serious disease, risk of the virus spreading in the United States is very low. CDC and its partners are taking actions to prevent this from happening. Here’s what you need to know about the virus:

• A person infected with Ebola cannot spread the disease until symptoms appear.
• Ebola is spread through direct contact with blood and body fluids of a person sick with the virus.
• Ebola is not spread through the air, water, or food.

Knowing how the virus is spread also provides ways to protect yourself:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Do not touch the blood or body fluids (like urine, feces, saliva, vomit, sweat, and semen) of people are sick.
• Do not handle items that may have come in contact with a sick person’s blood or body fluids.

For more information or to receive the latest updates, check the CDC’s website.