Kenya starts Ebola outbreak countdown after final patients leave care

No patients remain in care

The final patient in Kenya who tested positive for Ebola left the hospital on Wednesday. Duale said the last 11 people being monitored for symptoms had also completed their 21-day quarantine and been discharged.

Cases traced to imported infection

Kenyan authorities said everyone who later became ill was quarantined before developing symptoms and becoming infectious. They reported no community transmission, meaning the virus was not passed on outside a medical setting.

Declaration depends on tests

Kenya could officially declare the outbreak over on Dec. 23, 42 days after the last case was recorded, if no further tests are positive, Duale said. The countdown marks progress in containing cases linked to infections arriving from Congo, where the outbreak continues to spread.

The current outbreak has killed more than 5,300 people since the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in May. Uganda recorded 20 cases and three deaths before declaring its outbreak over by August; Nigeria identified a case in Abuja last month.

Travel measures continue

Kenya has introduced rules requiring citizens returning from Congo to undergo 21 days of quarantine and monitoring, Duale said. He did not specify whether quarantine would be at home or in a medical facility.

In November, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention required air travelers entering the United States to sign a document confirming they had not been in Congo during the previous 21 days. Ebola patients have also been medically evacuated to several European countries; two Americans who worked with humanitarian organizations tested positive, were treated outside the United States and recovered.