Kenya to begin Ebola-free countdown as last patient discharged

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Kenya has discharged all surviving Ebola patients and released its final monitored contacts after 21 symptom-free days, authorities said Wednesday. At a news conference in…

NAIROBI, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has discharged all surviving Ebola patients and released its final monitored contacts after 21 symptom-free days, authorities said Wednesday.

At a news conference in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said that all seven surviving patients have fully recovered and been discharged, and that all 11 identified contacts have completed their monitoring period.

"For the first time since this outbreak began, Kenya has no patient under treatment and no contact in quarantine. This is not the victory of one person or one institution. It is a triumph of collaboration, cooperation and partnership," Duale said.

He announced that Kenya will begin its official 42-day countdown toward an Ebola-free declaration on Thursday, noting that pending no new cases, the declaration is expected on or about Dec. 23.

Duale said the milestone comes on the 37th day after Kenya confirmed its first imported Bundibugyo Virus Disease case on Oct. 6.

The index case involved a Kenyan traveler who traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through Uganda before arriving in Kenya, where the patient subsequently tested positive and died.

Through surveillance and contact tracing, health officials successfully identified and monitored all 135 contacts linked to the index case.

All nine confirmed cases, including two deaths, were contained within a single transmission cluster, with no community transmission recorded, he said.

During the 42-day countdown, Duale said, the Ministry of Health will maintain heightened surveillance and preparedness nationwide.

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