Death of boy stokes Ebola fears across Africa

Fears worsened Wednesday that the year-old Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could spread to nearby nations, as a boy in Uganda died from the disease and two of his relatives there were infected.

The boy, 5, from a Congolese family who had crossed into Uganda on June 9, was the first confirmed case of Ebola outside the Democratic Republic of Congo since the highly infectious illness erupted last summer in the eastern part of the vast African country.

The World Health Organization said they boy’s 50year-old grandmother and 3year-old brother had tested positive for Ebola. The organization said a hospital was treating them in isolation and that at least eight people may have been in contact with the first victim, raising the risk of further infections.

The Congo outbreak is the second-deadliest on record, infecting more than 2,071 people and killing at least 1,396, according to the WHO.