Health Ministry Director-General Dr. Patrick Amoth said the attendant had cared for Kenya's first Ebola patient, a 40-year-old Kenyan man who traveled from Congo through Uganda and arrived Oct. 3. A relative drove him to Nairobi Hospital, and he died Oct. 5.
Three of his close relatives and three health workers have also tested positive. Officials listed some 130 contacts, including health workers, and 128 remain in quarantine. Amoth said people in quarantine get tested once they develop symptoms. The other six patients are stable on supportive treatment.
Kenya has not seen community transmission yet, but the first case exposed gaps in screening at border points. The country has since strengthened screening and set up an emergency hotline for anyone who suspects contact with an Ebola patient or develops symptoms. Nairobi's main airport now funnels all flights from 10 countries at the center of the outbreak through a single designated gate.
Next door, Tanzania tightened border screenings and added mandatory health declarations and 21-day monitoring for travelers from high-risk countries.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood and vomit, or through contaminated bedding and clothing.
Congo is living through its deadliest outbreak, with at least 4,000 deaths since May.