Nairobi, Kenya - Oct 23, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of medical workers walking into hospital building, working; hospital interior
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, acting WHO representative to Kenya:
"So for WHO criteria, we look at those 21 days. But we still have people who are sick, right? So until you come to the last patient being treated and is now Ebola-free, then we count up to 42 days to officially say this is over. So we still have a while to go for that."
3. Sign reminding people to guard against Ebola
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, acting WHO representative to Kenya (ending with shot 5):
"They're currently now getting around an average of 70 something new cases every day. You can imagine if the case in Kenya, just one case, we had over 100 contacts. So imagine 70 new cases every day. How many contacts?"

DR Congo - Oct 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of health workers working, medical facilities, patient lying in bed

FILE: Geneva, Switzerland - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Various of WHO headquarters, WHO logo

Kenya must maintain high vigilance and continue strengthening disease surveillance and control measures, as the country reaches a critical phase in its response to the current Ebola outbreak, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Friday.

Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, acting WHO representative to Kenya, commended on the Kenyan government's prompt response following the detection of the first imported case, which involved rapid contact tracing and isolation.

According to Kenya's Ministry of Health, the country has reported nine confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain, including two deaths. All subsequent confirmed cases were identified while under isolation and are currently receiving treatment, with no evidence of community transmission.

Just before the first batch of close contacts completed their 21-day medical observation without symptoms and began leaving quarantine starting Sunday, Kimambo noted that releasing contacts from observation does not signal the end of the outbreak.

"So for WHO criteria, we look at those 21 days. But we still have people who are sick, right? So until you come to the last patient being treated and is now Ebola-free, then we count up to 42 days to officially say this is over. So we still have a while to go for that," she said.

The official also highlighted the broader regional concern, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where new cases continue to rise rapidly and cross-border human mobility increases the difficulty of epidemic control.

"They're currently now getting around an average of 70 something new cases every day. You can imagine if the case in Kenya, just one case, we had over 100 contacts. So imagine 70 new cases every day. How many contacts?" she said.

To address these challenges, the WHO is assisting relevant countries in sharing information and coordinating responses through national contact mechanisms and country offices, Kimambo added.