Kenya begins countdown towards end of Ebola after last patient discharged
Authorities will now monitor the situation for 42 days before the country can be officially declared free of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo species.
The development comes more than a month after Kenya confirmed its first case, which was linked to the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Forty-two days is twice the longest incubation period of the virus. If no new case is recorded in that period, Kenya will be declared free of Ebola on 23 December 2026,” said Aden Duale, Cabinet Secretary for Health, speaking in the capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday.
Praise and vigilance
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) congratulated Kenya on the milestone but stressed the need to remain vigilant.
Authorities should keep up disease surveillance, screen patients in health facilities and strengthen laboratory capacity and health worker preparedness so that any new cases are identified and controlled quickly, said Dr. Abdourahmane Diallo, Director for Programme Management at the WHO Regional Office for Africa.
Kenya confirmed its first case on 6 October – a Kenyan man who had travelled home from the DRC via Uganda and died at a Nairobi hospital.
Contact tracing quickly found all 135 people who had been in close contact with him, both in Kenya and abroad. Those at risk stayed in quarantine, where health workers monitored them every day.
Eight more people tested positive – four family members of the first patient and four health workers who had cared for him before Ebola was suspected.
As they were all in quarantine, the virus never spread to the community.
Response success
The last case was confirmed on 19 October and no new case has been recorded since. Seven patients have recovered and two people have died, WHO said.
Health authorities stressed that the fight against Ebola is not over.
“Let me be clear. The countdown is not the end of our response,” Mr. Duale said, noting that rapid response teams will stay on guard, every alert will be investigated and survivors will receive follow-up care and support.
Discover more from Africa Global Village
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
