Five Ebola Patients Recover as Kenya Releases 46 Contacts from Quarantine

GOOBJOOG NEWS | NAIROBI: Kenya has discharged five patients who tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola after laboratory tests confirmed they had cleared the virus, in a development the Ministry of Health says marks progress in containing the outbreak.

The five men, two treated at Kenyatta National Hospital and three at The Nairobi Hospital, completed treatment and were discharged on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.

A further 46 people who had been identified as contacts of confirmed cases were also released from quarantine after completing their monitoring period without developing symptoms. They have been reunited with their families.

The ministry said another 52 contacts were expected to complete their 21-day monitoring period and leave quarantine by November 11. Twenty others had already returned home on October 25.

Kenya has recorded nine confirmed cases of the virus, including two deaths, giving a case fatality rate of 22.2 percent. No new infections have been reported since October 19, and all confirmed cases have been linked to a single cluster associated with the first imported case.

Two patients remain under treatment, one at each of the two Nairobi hospitals, and will be discharged after meeting the established medical criteria.

The ministry said there was currently no evidence of community transmission, but warned that the outbreak had not yet been declared over. Kenya will begin a 42-day countdown to the official end of the outbreak after the final patient has recovered or been laid to rest, provided no new case is recorded during that period.

Health authorities said heightened surveillance and contact tracing would continue, urging anyone experiencing symptoms consistent with Ebola to seek medical assessment immediately.

The ministry also called on families and communities to welcome discharged patients and people released from quarantine without discrimination, warning against stigma.

The announcement comes amid travel measures introduced by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in response to the outbreak. Kenya said it was engaging the two countries through international health and diplomatic channels, maintaining that any restrictions should be proportionate and based on scientific evidence.

The ministry said Kenya remained open to travel, trade and public gatherings, with no domestic restrictions announced in connection with the outbreak.