Ebola tests on intercepted Kinshasa riverboat return negative results
Health officials confirmed that seven passengers from a river vessel stopped near Kinshasa tested negative for Ebola, easing fears of spread after a suspected case died.
A river boat traveling toward Kinshasa was intercepted in Maluku, roughly 65 km upstream, following the death of a 32-year-old man in northwestern Mongala province who was suspected of Ebola. Health teams screened all 300 occupants for fever and other signs, yet only seven individuals presenting malaria-type symptoms were sampled for the virus. Jean-Jacques Muyembe of the National Institute for Biomedical Research reported that those seven tests came back negative.
The boat underwent decontamination and passengers were supplied with meals and medical assistance, according to provincial health official Isabelle Lumbwe. Video footage showed travelers protesting the stoppage. In response, health services have been instructed to screen every vessel arriving in Kinshasa as part of measures to contain an outbreak that has exceeded 4,000 cases and 1,850 deaths across eastern Congo.
Why it matters
It shows how Congo is managing Ebola risks to prevent the disease from reaching the densely populated capital.
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