Family of US Ebola patient admitted to Berlin isolation ward

BERLIN, May 21 (Reuters) - ‌The family ​of ​a U.S. citizen who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an ‌outbreak of a rare strain of the ⁠virus has killed over 130 people, has been admitted to ‌an isolation ward at ‌the Berlin hospital where he is being treated.

The German health ministry said in a statement on ​Thursday that the wife and four children of the patient "were brought to Germany on a ⁠special flight and are considered close contacts."

The ministry did not say ​whether any of the family members were infected with Ebola or showing symptoms.

The patient, ​identified by the Serge Christian ‌mission organization as medical missionary Dr. Peter Stafford, is in stable condition, according ⁠to the U.S. CDC.

Stafford contracted Ebola while treating patients in the DRC, where he had been living with ⁠his family, according to Serge.

Berlin's Charite hospital, where Stafford is ​being treated, was chosen for his care because Germany is 12 hours closer to the DRC than the United ‌States, the White House has said, denying a Washington Post report that it ‌resisted allowing Stafford to return to the United ⁠States.

The German health ministry ‌did not comment ​on the reason the patient was admitted there.

(Reporting by Friederike Heine, editing by Kirsti ‌Knolle)

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