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Poll finds many in U.S. lack knowledge about Ebola and its transmission

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Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports no known cases of Ebola transmission in the United States, a Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)/SSRS poll released August 21, 2014 shows that four-in-ten (39 percent) adults in the U.S. are concerned that there will be a large outbreak in the U.S., and a quarter (26 percent) are concerned that they or someone in their immediate family may get sick with Ebola over the next year.

The nationally representative poll of 1,025 adults was conducted August 13-17, 2014 by researchers at HSPH and SSRS, an independent research company. The margin of error for total respondents is +/- 3.6 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates, such as monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees. Four countries have reported infections: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Officials report 1,350 have died as of August 21, 2014 and over 2,473 people have been infected since March 2014. Get an update on the outbreak from the CDC.