U.S. Steps Up Response to Ebola

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is ramping up its response to the Ebola crisis after a second Dallas nurse became ill and it was disclosed that she had been cleared to fly a day before her diagnosis.

Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms. Still, the revelation of another Ebola infection raised new alarms about whether hospitals and the public health system are equipped to handle the deadly disease.

Federal health officials are being called to testify before a congressional committee Thursday to explain where things have gone wrong.

President Barack Obama is directing his administration to respond in a "much more aggressive way" to oversee the Dallas cases and ensure the lessons learned there are transmitted to hospitals and clinics across the country.