Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have placed a passenger boat under quarantine on the Congo River and begun screening all 255 people on board for Ebola and cholera following the deaths of five passengers.
The Yingfeng 2, a vessel operated by a Chinese company, was intercepted near Bende Bende port, about 65 kilometres upstream of the capital, Kinshasa, as a precaution against the possible spread of infectious disease.
Health Minister Roger Kamba said the emergency measures were triggered after a passenger suffering from fever and diarrhoea disembarked at an earlier stop and later died in hospital. Four other passengers, including two adults, a three-year-old child and a newborn baby, also died during the journey.
Medical teams from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) boarded the vessel and established a mobile laboratory to test passengers for Ebola and cholera.
Kamba said no passenger had tested positive so far, adding that authorities remain optimistic the boat will remain free of Ebola after the virus’s 21-day incubation period has passed.
The boat departed Kisangani, the country’s third-largest city, about two weeks ago before travelling more than 1,700 kilometres downstream towards Kinshasa, where it was intercepted.
The minister also clarified that there are currently no confirmed Ebola cases in Mongala Province, where the passenger who later died had left the boat, despite earlier reports suggesting otherwise.
Security agencies have been directed to keep the vessel isolated offshore in accordance with WHO guidelines while health officials continue monitoring passengers and preparing for any possible outbreak.
The quarantine comes as the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to battle its 17th Ebola outbreak, which was declared on May 15. The outbreak is linked to the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a variant that had not been detected for more than a decade.
Unlike other Ebola strains, Bundibugyo currently has no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment, although the first human clinical trials for a vaccine are underway in the United Kingdom.
More than three months after the outbreak began, infections and deaths continue to increase. Official figures indicate that 3,973 confirmed Ebola cases and 1,801 deaths have been recorded, making it the country’s second-deadliest Ebola outbreak.
Authorities are currently monitoring more than 17,000 people who may have been exposed to the virus. A total of 674 patients remain in isolation or treatment centres across five provinces, while 776 people have recovered.
In Kinshasa, health officials have stepped up surveillance and emergency preparedness at Maluku, one of the city’s main entry points, as part of efforts to prevent the virus from reaching the capital.
Officials have stressed that the quarantine of the Yingfeng 2 is a precautionary measure but say it reflects the seriousness of the ongoing Ebola outbreak and the need to prevent further transmission.
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