NAIROBI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ministry of Health said Friday that six Ebola patients have recovered after testing negative for the virus, and only one patient remains under treatment.
No new Ebola case or community transmission of the highly contagious hemorrhagic fever has been reported in the country in the last 18 days since Oct. 19, said Patrick Amoth, director-general for health in the ministry, in the latest update.
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Kenya remains at nine, including two deaths, he said.
Amoth said that 66 contacts have completed their 21 days of monitoring and returned home, while another 52 are expected to complete their monitoring by next week.
He said that Kenya has followed rigorous protocols to contain the further spread of Ebola, after the first case of Bundibugyo virus disease was confirmed on Oct. 6 in an individual who had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for seven years and later died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nairobi.
He added that when the last Ebola patient leaves the treatment center free from the virus, Kenya will begin a 42-day countdown, twice the maximum incubation period of the virus.
"If no new case is recorded in those 42 days, the outbreak will be declared over," said Amoth, stressing the need for the public to intensify vigilance while observing public health measures aimed at averting spread of the virus.
He clarified that Ebola is still active in the region while Kenya will continue screening travelers at its 26 points of entry, at which more than 760,000 travelers have been screened.
In addition, Amoth said that emergency operations centers and rapid response teams have been reactivated countrywide to avert Ebola transmission. ■
