Kenya's last Ebola patient leaves hospital
Health Minister Aden Duale confirms all contacts traced as nation awaits official Ebola-free declaration
Quick Look
- Kenya has discharged its final Ebola patient from a Nairobi hospital.
- Health Minister Aden Duale confirmed all 135 contacts were traced, with the country set to be declared Ebola-free on December 23 if no further symptoms emerge.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began in May and has resulted in 5,387 deaths. Kenya's cluster originated from a traveler returning from the DRC.
Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale said on Wednesday that the east African country had discharged its last remaining Ebola patient from a Nairobi hospital.
The final person to undergo treatment for the disease in Kenya had 11 contact cases, Duale said, who will also undergo 21 days of quarantine.
Kenya will be declared Ebola-free on December 23 if no one else exhibits symptoms until then.
"Through strengthened surveillance and contact tracing, all 135 contacts linked to the index case were successfully traced and monitored," the health ministry said.
"All nine confirmed cases remained within a single transmission cluster, with no community transmission recorded," it added.
The first of its nine cases, reported on October 6, came from a Kenyan man who had recently travelled back from the Demoratic Republic of Congo.
Seven patients recovered, and two passed away.
What is the state of the Ebola outbreak?
DR Congo on Wednesday reported 11,000 cases of the virulent, often fatal disease.
This current outbreak, which began in May, has become Congo's deadliest, claiming 5,387 lives so far.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Kenya will be declared Ebola-free on December 23.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Will any of the 11 contacts currently in quarantine develop symptoms?
