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Congolese health authorities held nearly 200 boat passengers in quarantine near Kinshasa on Thursday after one traveler who was previously aboard the boat died with symptoms matching the Ebola virus.
Congo has been battling an Ebola outbreak since May that has been deemed the fastest in history in terms of transmission, with confirmed cases reaching 4,000, including over 1,800 deaths, according to Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC.
The passenger had become sick and disembarked nearly three weeks ago in Pimu, in the province of Mongala, more than 600 miles from Kinshasa along the Congo River, Kaseya said Thursday, adding that the capital has no confirmed Ebola case. The passenger later died.
Authorities did not give the current location of the boat other than to say that it was near the capital. They did not say if the nearly 200 remaining passengers were being held aboard the ship or in some location on land, nor how long they would be held. But they said they were awaiting test results.
"We decided to do that even if some of them didn't have symptoms because we want to make sure that we don't miss anything," Kaseya added.
Ebola is highly contagious and spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing.