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Urge Inside Health| East Africa. Urge- DevWire
Kenya releases first 20 Ebola contacts from quarantine as 98 remain under monitoring
Kenya released the first 20 contacts of its initial imported Ebola case from quarantine on 26 October after they completed the required 21 days of monitoring without developing symptoms, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported. A total of 98 contacts remain in quarantine. Kenya's Ministry of Health says they will be released in four waves beginning 3 November, subject to individual health assessments.
WHO says all contacts were traced, in Kenya and internationally, and placed in quarantine by 22 October. As of 26 October, eight contacts had developed symptoms and tested positive, bringing Kenya's total to nine confirmed cases and two deaths. Kenya confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease on 6 October, in a Kenyan citizen who had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and travelled to Nairobi through Uganda. The patient had died on 5 October.
Nigeria reported one confirmed imported case on 20 October. Nigerian authorities say genomic analysis indicates it is closely related to Kenya's index case, and both travellers left Uganda's Entebbe airport on the same day in early October, according to Reuters.
In the DRC, 9,704 confirmed cases including 4,687 deaths had been recorded as of 21 October, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). WHO notes there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for Bundibugyo virus disease.
Kenya's Director General for Health, Dr Patrick Amoth, cautioned that the outbreak is not over and urged communities to welcome returning contacts home. WHO's Representative to Kenya, Dr Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, said that completing quarantine has helped protect families and communities.
The release marks progress in managing exposure risk, while the wider outbreak continues to generate cross border risk. Surveillance at points of entry, rapid isolation and contact tracing remain central to the response.
Sources: WHO Kenya news release, 26 October 2026; Kenya Ministry of Health statement, 26 October 2026; ECDC threat assessment brief
Urge Inside Health| East Africa. Urge- DevWire
26 October 2026 · Nairobi, Kenya
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