Kenya has discharged its last Ebola patient and begun a 42-day countdown toward being declared free of the disease, while keeping prevention measures in place until December 23, Al Jazeera reported.

Health Minister Aden Duale announced the discharge at a news conference in Nairobi on Wednesday, November 11, more than five weeks after Kenya recorded its first case on October 6. He also said Kenyan citizens arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo would now be required to undergo a 21-day quarantine.

Kenya recorded nine confirmed cases during the outbreak. The first patient and his mother died, while the other seven patients fully recovered. The most recent case was recorded on October 19.

According to the Ministry of Health, all nine cases were linked to the first patient’s contact list, indicating that there had been no community transmission. That patient travelled from the DRC through Uganda and transmitted the virus to four family members and four healthcare workers. Authorities identified 135 people who had interacted with him.

The discharge comes as infections continue to rise elsewhere in the region. The DRC government said Wednesday that 11,042 people had been infected and 5,387 had died in the country, the outbreak’s epicentre. The outbreak also reached Uganda and Nigeria through people who travelled from the DRC. Al Jazeera reported that the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain.

Kenya has tightened screening at its main airport, assigning a specific gate to passengers arriving from 10 countries that have reported Ebola cases or border countries with active cases. Screening uses thermal technology, and all new arrivals must complete a declaration providing travel and health information.

The outbreak has also disrupted travel for Kenyan workers. Saudi Arabia indefinitely suspended visas on October 30, affecting hundreds of people travelling there for employment, particularly domestic and hotel work.

Kenya’s Health Ministry has asked Saudi Arabia to reconsider, arguing that the first infection was imported and subsequent cases were traced to that patient’s contacts. The ministry said all contacts had been identified and traced under established outbreak-control guidelines.

Sources