Kenya Releases First 20 Ebola Contacts From Quarantine After 21 Days, 98 Still Monitored

Twenty people linked to Kenya's first Ebola case have been released from quarantine after completing 21 days of monitoring without symptoms, the UN and WHO said. Another 98 contacts remain in quarantine, and eight contacts have so far tested positive and were moved to a Nairobi treatment centre.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk27 October 20264 min readRead in all 3 languages

Twenty people associated with Kenya's first case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease have been reunited with their families after being released from quarantine following completion of the mandatory 21-day monitoring period, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The contacts were discharged on Monday, according to the World Health Organization, which has been assisting Kenyan authorities with Ebola preparedness since the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared an outbreak on 15 May. Another 98 contacts remain in quarantine.

The people who are now back at home remained asymptomatic during quarantine and underwent standard protocols, including a final health assessment, counselling on post-discharge precautions and follow-up where required, before being released. Kenya's Director-General for Health, Dr Patrick Amoth, said: We ask communities to welcome them home warmly. Having completed 21 days without symptoms, they pose no risk of infection to anyone.

Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on 6 October, a Kenyan man who had been working in the DRC. He flew back to Kenya via Uganda on 3 October and died in a Nairobi hospital two days later. The Ministry of Health conducted robust contact tracing of anyone who may have been exposed, including family members, airline passengers and crew, airport workers and medical personnel. By 22 October, all contacts were traced, both in Kenya and abroad, and placed in quarantine.

As of Monday, eight contacts had developed symptoms and were confirmed positive for Ebola disease through laboratory testing. They were immediately transferred to the Ebola treatment centre in Nairobi. The WHO representative to Kenya, Dr Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, said: People who complete quarantine have helped protect their families, their communities and the whole country.

Bundibugyo is one of the Ebola virus species for which there is no licensed vaccine, which makes contact tracing and quarantine the core tools of the response, health officials have said. The release of the first 20 contacts is a milestone in that tracing effort, not a declaration that the wider regional outbreak is over.

Sources