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. 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. 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. NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP)—Kenya has confirmed four new Ebola cases, the health ministry said Saturday, including another relative of the first victim and three healthcare workers who treated him.

The country had not reported a single case of the contagious virus until October 6, after a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) died after returning to Kenya. The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May and has since reported over 9,000 cases. The deadly disease has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.

In a statement, Kenya's Ministry of Health "confirms four new cases of Ebola", bringing the total to seven overall, including the deceased first case. The ministry said the four "developed fever" and were immediately isolated ahead of being tested, which returned positive. "The new cases include a close male relative of the deceased", it said, saying the man had been in quarantine since October 6.