Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale told a television interview on 25 October that Kenya may be declared Ebola‑free once a 42‑day period without new community cases is reached, citing progress in contact tracing, testing and quarantine after the first imported case.

The first patient was detected on 3 October after entering Kenya from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Duale said all identified contacts have been traced, achieving a 100 % tracing rate, which exceeds the World Health Organization’s benchmark of 85 % for effective tracing.

In the 48 hours before the interview, 551 people were tested and every result was negative.

Two deaths have been recorded – a 45‑year‑old man linked to the imported case and a 65‑year‑old woman who died on 23 October – both within the known contact cluster, with no evidence of wider community spread.

The Ministry of Health notes that all confirmed cases remain confined to a single cluster and that about 21 more people are slated for testing before any further quarantine releases are considered.

Public health advice remains unchanged: avoid contact with blood or bodily fluids of suspected cases, do not handle bodies without protective gear, wash hands regularly, and seek immediate medical care if symptoms such as fever, vomiting or unexplained bleeding appear.