Ebola in Kenya: WHO backs 42-day countdown
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Maroc Diplomatique
Kenya, which has recorded no new confirmed cases for three weeks, is preparing for the 42-day period before a possible end of the outbreak, with WHO support. Nine cases are linked to an imported cluster reported on 6 October 2026, with no community transmission detected, according to Maroc Diplomatique.
Kenya and the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in the face of the Ebola outbreak, at a high-level meeting led by WHO regional director for Africa, Yakub Janabi, according to Maroc Diplomatique. The country is preparing for the 42-day countdown required before a possible declaration of the end of the outbreak, after three consecutive weeks without a new confirmed case.
The nine recorded cases are linked to a single cluster, arising from an imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease reported on 6 October 2026. The toll stands at six recoveries, two deaths and one patient still under treatment, with no sign of community transmission. Nairobi welcomed WHO’s donation of 12 portable PCR systems and a 28-bed treatment unit.
The response measures have made it possible to screen more than 772,000 travellers at 28 points of entry, test 736 samples in five designated laboratories and train more than 7,300 health workers. Kenya is asking WHO to advocate against general travel bans and visa restrictions. This response comes as the outbreak in DR Congo has become the largest in the country’s history.
