NAIROBI, Kenya-Kenya has discharged its last Ebola patient, leaving the country with no one under treatment and no contacts in quarantine as it begins the 42-day countdown required before an official declaration that the outbreak is over.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the final patient was discharged healthy and free of the virus on Tuesday, becoming the seventh person to recover from the Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak.
The remaining 11 contacts under monitoring also returned home after completing follow-up in good health, bringing the total number of traced contacts to 135.
Day one of the 42-day period begins on Thursday, November 12. If no new case is recorded, Kenya could be declared Ebola-free on December 23.
The 42-day threshold represents twice the maximum 21-day incubation period for Ebola. Health authorities have stressed that the countdown is not the end of the response, but a period in which surveillance, rapid response and contact-tracing capacity must remain active.
Seven recoveries, two deaths
Kenya confirmed its first case of Bundibugyo virus disease on October 6 after a Kenyan traveller returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda.
The country recorded nine confirmed cases, all epidemiologically linked to the initial imported infection. Two people died, while seven patients have now recovered.
The last case was confirmed on October 19, and no new infection has been reported since.
According to the World Health Organization, four family members of the first patient and four health workers later tested positive, but all were already in quarantine when they fell ill. This prevented sustained community transmission.
WHO praised Kenya’s early reporting, coordinated response, contact tracing and the work of frontline health workers, saying the milestone was cause for cautious celebration rather than complacency.
Ebola remains active in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where WHO reports nearly 11,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,000 deaths in the ongoing outbreak.
Duale rejects foreign quarantine requests
Alongside the health update, Duale said Kenya would not serve as a quarantine centre for other jurisdictions seeking to meet their own entry requirements.
“Travellers from other countries will not be held in Kenya to meet another country’s entry requirement,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary also said the Ministry of Health would not issue quarantine certificates or Ebola-free certificates for travel purposes, arguing that such documents have no basis under the International Health Regulations.
Duale said Kenya remained open for trade, tourism, travel and public gatherings, with no domestic restrictions on movement.
He criticised jurisdictions that imposed broad travel and visa restrictions on Kenyan travellers after the outbreak was announced, saying Kenya should not be penalised for transparency.
The CS called for an urgent review of those measures, arguing that Kenya now has no patient under treatment, no contact in quarantine and no evidence of community transmission.
Africa CDC backs call to lift restrictions
Africa CDC has also urged the lifting of travel restrictions it considers disproportionate to the epidemiological risk.
In a November 3 statement, the continental health agency specifically called on Saudi Arabia to review and lift broad Ebola-related restrictions on Kenya, saying public-health measures should be guided by science, proportionality and the International Health Regulations rather than fear.
WHO similarly advises against travel and trade restrictions on affected countries, while urging countries to maintain appropriate screening, surveillance and cross-border cooperation.
Vigilance remains essential
Duale said rapid-response teams will remain on alert in every county during the 42-day monitoring period and every alert will continue to be investigated.
Health authorities advise anyone with fever, weakness, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding, especially after travel to an affected area, to seek care immediately and call the toll-free number 719.
Kenya has reached a major containment milestone. But the country will only be officially declared Ebola-free if it completes the next six weeks without another confirmed case.
