Congolese health authorities have intercepted a boat carrying 200 passengers en route to Kinshasa after a man who had disembarked earlier died on July 25 with symptoms consistent with Ebola, officials said Thursday. The vessel, travelling from the northeastern hub of Kisangani, was stopped at the river port of Maluku, about 65 kilometres from the capital, stoking fears the outbreak could spread to the city of more than 17 million people.
Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said a mobile laboratory has been deployed to test everyone on board. He said the 32-year-old man suspected of dying from Ebola had left the boat in Mongala province, roughly 550 km downstream, before falling ill. A provincial health ministry report obtained by Reuters noted that no biological sample was taken from him, since the facility that treated him lacked testing kits. Kamba said no other deaths have been reported among the travellers.
Journeys by river between Kisangani, in Tshopo province, and Kinshasa can take weeks, with communication along the route often limited. Tshopo is one of five provinces hit by the outbreak, which has recorded seven confirmed cases there. Nationwide, the outbreak has infected 3,973 people and killed 1,801, according to government data released Wednesday.
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