Kenya’s Ebola cases rise to 7, including health workers who cared for the first patient

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Three Kenyan health workers have tested positive for Ebola after caring for the country’s first confirmed case, the Health Ministry said Saturday.

Another person linked to the first Ebola case also tested positive while in quarantine, bringing the total number of infections in Kenya to seven.

The ministry said the four new patients were in isolation and receiving care. The other two patients were in stable condition. The first patient died on Oct. 5, days after he arrived in Kenya from Congo, where an outbreak has killed at least 4,300 people since May, accounting for nearly half of all confirmed cases there.

The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

Ebola is highly contagious and spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, including blood and vomit, or through contact with contaminated materials and surfaces, such as bedding and clothing.

About 130 people who had been in contact with the first patient, a 40-year-old Kenyan man, were identified, the ministry said. Of those, 128 were in quarantine and two were being traced, it said.

Kenya has strengthened screening and established an emergency hotline for anyone who suspects they may have been in contact with an Ebola patient or develops symptoms.