Kenya to start releasing Ebola contacts from quarantine on 25 October; no new cases

Kenya's Ministry of Health will begin releasing the first Ebola contacts from quarantine on Sunday 25 October, Health Director General Dr Patrick Amoth said in an update on Thursday 22 October, as reported by KBC, The Star and Citizen Digital. Those released will be contacts who have completed 21 days of monitoring without developing symptoms.

No new cases were recorded. All 14 samples from suspected cases in the previous 24 hours tested negative, and 461 samples have been tested in total.

Kenya has nine confirmed cases of Bundibugyo virus disease, including the index patient, who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Capital FM, and died on 5 October. The ministry confirmed the imported case on 6 October. The ninth case, a 24-year-old man who was already in quarantine, tested positive on 19 October.

Eight patients are in isolation facilities and are stable: four family members and four health workers who cared for the index patient.

"All the cases belong to a single cluster, with no evidence of community spread," Amoth said, as quoted by KBC. Investigations found that all confirmed cases had close contact with the index patient between 3 and 5 October, and no infection was traced to transmission inside quarantine facilities.

All 135 contacts of the first case have been traced, in Kenya and abroad. Health authorities in other countries were notified under the International Health Regulations. Contacts are monitored according to their own exposure dates, and anyone exposed to a newly confirmed case starts a new monitoring period.

Those who finish monitoring in good health "will be released from quarantine from October 25 and reunited with their families", Amoth said, as quoted by The Star.

A total of 709,093 travellers have been screened at points of entry since the response began, including 3,107 in the past 24 hours. The government says travel, trade and public gatherings remain unrestricted.

People with fever, unusual tiredness, muscle or joint pain, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding should seek care at once. The toll-free line is 719, and the ministry's Jali WhatsApp chatbot is 0700 719 719.

"The end of this outbreak is within reach, and together we will get there," Amoth said, as quoted by Citizen Digital.