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Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced on November 11 2026 that Kenya had discharged its seventh and final Ebola patient to recover from the disease with the last 11 contacts also completing monitoring and returning home the same day. The country recorded nine cases since early October all linked to an imported infection from the Democratic Republic of Congo with two deaths and seven full recoveries. No new infections have been reported since October 19 and the development means Kenya now has zero patients under treatment and zero contacts in quarantine according to a statement from the health ministry.
The initial case was a Kenyan man who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for seven years contracted the Bundibugyo strain there and died in Nairobi days after traveling via Uganda. All subsequent cases involved contacts including four healthcare workers who were already in quarantine when they developed symptoms preventing any community transmission the ministry reported. Duale said “Today with the discharge of the last patient we can confirm and tell the world that seven patients have recovered and all contacts have completed their follow-up monitoring.”
In the Democratic Republic of Congo where the outbreak was declared in May more than 11,000 cases have been confirmed with over 5,000 deaths making it the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record according to government figures cited by Reuters. The virus has now spread to four countries in the region including Uganda and Nigeria marking the widest geographic reach of any Ebola outbreak on the continent. Kenya had screened more than 650,000 travelers at points of entry and tested hundreds of suspected samples since the regional outbreak began a health ministry assessment found.
The World Health Organization which provided supplies valued at $70,000 and trained more than 4,000 Kenyan health workers since the first case praised the response. Dr Abdourahmane Diallo Director for Programme Management at WHO Africa said “Surviving Ebola is a remarkable achievement. I commend the Government of Kenya for its transparency timely reporting strong coordination mechanisms and commitment to protecting the health and well-being of its people.” The agency stated it will continue support through the countdown period and beyond.
Five patients were discharged on November 3 as the first Kenyans to recover from the disease followed by a sixth on November 6 before the final release on November 11 according to the health ministry. All seven survivors including healthcare workers received care in specialized isolation units at facilities including Kenyatta National Hospital and Nairobi Hospital. The ministry had identified 135 contacts in total who completed 21-day monitoring in batches with the last group released on Wednesday.
This marked Kenya’s first known Ebola outbreak in contrast to Uganda which recorded 20 cases linked to the same regional event before being declared free in August a WHO update showed. The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or dedicated treatment although trials continue health officials noted. Kenyan authorities have introduced a mandatory 21-day quarantine for travelers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo to guard against further imported cases the health minister stated.
