Poll: 19% 'very concerned' they'll get Ebola

About 19% of Americans are "very concerned" they will contract Ebola, according to an exclusive poll conducted by SurveyUSA.

The research firm polled 1,200 people across the country, asking a series of questions about the disease.

Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they are "somewhat" concerned that they will contract Ebola, 35% said they are "not very" concerned and 16% are "not at all" concerned. One percent of people weren't sure.

Of those polled, 58% said they are following Ebola-related news stories "very" closely; 33% said they are following the stories "somewhat" closely, 7% said "not very" closely and 2% said "not at all." One percent answered "not sure."

Other findings:

• 58% are following new stories about the Ebola virus "very" closely. An additional 33% are following "somewhat" closely.

• 24% of Americans already have changed a part of their daily routine to avoid catching Ebola.

• 78% of Americans say the federal government needs to do more to protect Americans from the disease.

• 47% of Americans say the country is prepared to deal with isolated cases of Ebola.

• 73% say America is not prepared to deal with a widespread outbreak of Ebola.

The survey, conducted Oct. 14 and 15, included cellphone and home-phone interviews. The margin of error on the 10 questions ranged from ± 1.8 percentage points to ± 2.9 percentage points.