Three Kenyan health workers have tested positive for Ebola after caring for the country’s first confirmed case, while another person linked to the patient also tested positive in quarantine, bringing the total number of infections to seven, the Health Ministry said Saturday, according to media reports.
The four newly confirmed cases bring the total to seven, including the initial patient and two other previously identified cases whose details were not provided in the ministry’s statement, according to the information available.
The ministry said the four new patients were in isolation and receiving medical care, while two other patients were in stable condition.
The first confirmed patient, a 40-year-old Kenyan man, died on October 5, days after arriving in Kenya from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an outbreak has killed at least 4,300 people since May, accounting for nearly half of the confirmed cases there.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo virus, a rare species of Ebola virus for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, as well as contaminated materials and surfaces, including bedding and clothing.
The Health Ministry said approximately 130 people who had been in contact with the first patient were identified. Of those, 128 were in quarantine, while two others were being traced.
Kenya has strengthened health screening and established an emergency hotline for people who suspect they may have been exposed to the virus or develop symptoms consistent with Ebola.
Authorities are continuing to monitor identified contacts as they work to contain the outbreak.
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