Obama calls for urgent action to control Ebola

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged 1,500 state health chiefs across the country to do their part to prevent the spread of Ebola, calling them "partners in this fight" against the deadly disease.

Speaking hours after the first U.S. Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, was pronounced dead in a Dallas hospital, the president instructed local authorities to precisely follow federal guidelines to prepare for a potential case of Ebola. He said it was crucial to respond with "an appropriate sense of urgency."

"As we saw in Dallas, we don't have a lot of margin for error. If we don't follow protocols and procedures that are put in place, then we're putting folks in our communities at risk," Obama said on the conference call. "So we have to follow the procedures and protocols that have been established based on the science."

Obama's warning hinted at failings by Texas Presbyterian Hospital, which initially failed to diagnose the Liberian man infected with Ebola. It was the first time that Ebola had ever been diagnosed in the United States.

While Duncan contracted the disease in Liberia, his case raised nationwide concerns over the preparedness of U.S. hospitals, and spurred dozens of federal and state health officials to step up their own responses. Connecticut declared a public health emergency on Tuesday.

Obama reiterated that the national health care system is equipped to prevent the spread of Ebola. He called on local health leaders to assuage public fears by correcting the record on how the disease is spread.

"Ebola is a terrible disease, and the fact that in an interconnected world infectious disease can be transported across borders is one of the reasons we have to take it seriously," Obama said.

"At the same time, as I think all of us have tried to emphasize, it's important that, as public officials, we know and reinforce the facts," he added.

Five White House officials also joined the call, including Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. Enditem