The so-called prepper community has a long list of concerns—and for quite some time Ebola has been near the top of it. Experts, though, are split on whether the confirmation that the disease has entered the U.S. will spur a rush in equipment sales. Even as awareness of doomsdayers grows thanks to a reality series on the National Geographic Channel, sales of supplies like canned food and hand-cranked flashlights had actually begun to level off before Tuesday. And since Ebola has been on the community's radar for so long, many people have already stocked up. Read MoreWhat we know about the Texas patient "I think that a lot of people who are involved in the preparedness community already have the supplies to handle a wide variety of crises," said Daisy Luther, who runs The Organic Prepper blog. "Many of us do keep pandemic supplies on hand: things like nitrile gloves, N95 and N100 masks and sanitation supplies. Others who have been aware of the need but who have not yet made the purchases will very likely be on Amazon, ordering the necessary supplies, just in case this does turn into a pandemic."

People with closer ties to the survivalist retail world, though say they do expect to see some kind of sales bump. (Early figures from Amazon bear this out; as of Wednesday sales of a type of full-body protective suits were up 131,000 percent and sales for one type of mask had risen 18,000 percent in 24 hours. Amazon does not give actual sales figures.) Read MoreA closer look at the disease "I think you're going to see some of those people panicking," said Vic Rantala, former owner of Safecastle, which has been servicing the survival market for over 12 years. "Those who are most fearful at the moment will be locking themselves into their homes—maybe first going out and topping off their supplies at their local stores, as opposed to ordering products that will be coming through the mail—because to take delivery of something means they have to answer the door." Officials with the American Prepper's Network say it's premature to be talking about a lockdown, even for the most cautious preppers. Instead, they say, this is a good reminder to check inventories on things like surgical masks, and perhaps follow the example of some Asian countries, where it's not uncommon for people to wear those masks as they walk around town.