No cases of Ebola have been detected among passengers on a river boat that was placed in quarantine near Kinshasa, health authorities announced Saturday. The confirmation eased concerns that the rare Bundibugyo virus might spread to the Congolese capital.
More than 200 passengers were placed in quarantine on Thursday in the port of Maluku, approximately 40 miles from Kinshasa, after one traveler who had previously been aboard the boat died with symptoms consistent with the Ebola virus. Specialist teams from the Ministry of Health were deployed to Maluku to examine everyone on board. Samples were taken from individuals exhibiting suspicious symptoms and sent to a laboratory for analysis. The vessel was also decontaminated.
The National Institute of Biomedical Research stated that all suspected cases tested negative for Bundibugyo and urged the population of Kinshasa to remain calm. The river boat passenger had become sick and disembarked nearly three weeks prior in Pimu, in the province of Mongala, which is more than 620 miles from Kinshasa along the Congo River. The capital has no confirmed Ebola cases.
News of the passenger’s death had caused panic in Kinshasa, which is situated far from the eastern region currently battling an Ebola outbreak. This outbreak has been described as the fastest in history in terms of transmission, with confirmed cases reaching 4,200 and over 1,900 deaths since it began in May. The current outbreak is the second-largest on record, following the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak which recorded more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths.
Ebola is highly contagious and spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen, as well as with contaminated surfaces and materials like bedding and clothing. Health authorities have noted that between 60% and 70% of new cases in the current outbreak are occurring outside of monitored contacts, and the outbreak is spreading at an alarming rate faster than containment efforts.