Kenya’s last Ebola patient leaves hospital

Kenya has discharged its last Ebola patient, after treating nine confirmed cases in one transmission cluster. The development is a milestone in the country’s response, though it will only be declared Ebola-free on 23 December if no further cases emerge.

Health Minister Aden Duale said the final patient had 11 contacts, who will be quarantined for 21 days. Authorities traced and monitored all 135 contacts linked to the first case, reported on 6 October; seven patients recovered and two died, with no community transmission recorded. The outbreak is also continuing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has reported 11,000 cases and 5,387 deaths since it began in May.