The family of a US citizen who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 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 organisation as medical missionary Dr Peter Stafford, is in stable condition, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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 US, the White House has said, denying a Washington Post report that it resisted allowing Stafford to return to the US.

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