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Kenya discharged its last Ebola patient on Nov. 11 and released the final 11 people completing contact monitoring. The 42-day countdown begins Nov. 12, after which the country can be declared Ebola-free if no new cases are recorded. Its target date is Dec. 23, according to the World Health Organization and Kenya’s health minister.

Kenya’s countdown starts after its last patient recovers

Kenya’s outbreak involved Bundibugyo virus disease. The first case was confirmed Oct. 6 in a traveler who returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda, WHO reported. Health teams identified 135 contacts. The final 11 completed monitoring and returned home on Nov. 11.

Kenya recorded nine cases in total: two people died and seven recovered, according to AP and WHO. The last confirmed case was recorded on Oct. 19. The 42-day period is twice the virus’s longest known incubation period, and the date is a target rather than a declaration that the outbreak has ended.

The countdown is local, not regional

Kenya’s milestone does not mean the wider regional outbreak is over. Ebola remains active in the Democratic Republic of Congo. AP reported that Congolese authorities had recorded 11,042 infections and 5,387 deaths as of Nov. 11. The Kenya cases were traced to the initial imported infection, while its countdown continues unless another case is identified.

For additional context, see The Globuzz’s coverage of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sources and updates

Associated Press: Kenya begins 42-day countdown to being declared Ebola-free · WHO: Kenya’s last Ebola patient goes home as 42-day countdown begins