Kenya officially discharged its final recovering Ebola patient on Wednesday, launching a mandatory 42-day countdown toward declaring the country entirely free of the virus.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed the milestone during a media briefing in Nairobi, noting that the country now has zero active cases across all public health treatment centers.
The 42-day countdown representing two full 21-day incubation cycles mandated by World Health Organization protocols will run through December 23, 2026, provided no new infections are detected nationwide.
Total infections during the localized outbreak stood at nine confirmed cases following the initial index patient who arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo in early October. Seven patients recovered fully, while two died.
The Ministry of Health also released the final 11 monitored contact cases from quarantine, successfully concluding primary tracing operations for the 135 individuals previously tracked by health surveillance units.
Four healthcare workers were among the seven survivors, having contracted the Bundibugyo virus strain during initial emergency triage operations before isolation containment protocols were fully activated.
Despite clearing all active admissions, Duale emphasized that rapid response teams will maintain heightened surveillance across all 47 counties to prevent secondary flare-ups linked to regional cross-border movement.
The regional outbreak risk remains elevated across East Africa, driven by the ongoing Ebola surge in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, which has recorded over 11,000 cases and 5,000 deaths.
Duale assured international stakeholders that Kenya’s borders, trade routes, and airports remain fully operational without domestic travel or commerce restrictions throughout the surveillance period.
