Congo Places 200 Passengers Under Quarantine After Ebola-Like Death

Health authorities placed nearly 200 boat passengers under quarantine on Thursday after a former passenger died with symptoms consistent with Ebola. Officials stressed that laboratory testing was still awaited and that no Ebola case had been confirmed in the capital, preventing the death from being formally attributed to the virus at this stage.

The passenger reportedly became ill and left the boat nearly three weeks earlier at Pimu in Mongala province, more than 1,000 kilometres from Kinshasa along the Congo River, before later dying. Authorities did not disclose the vessel’s exact location beyond saying it was near the capital, nor did they clarify whether the remaining passengers were being held aboard the boat or at a facility on land.

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said authorities decided to monitor all passengers, including those without symptoms, to ensure that no potential infections were overlooked. Officials did not announce how long the passengers would remain in quarantine or when their test results would become available. News of the suspected case caused concern in Kinshasa, far from the outbreak’s principal centre in eastern Congo.

Also Read: Congo Ebola Outbreak Nears 1,000 Deaths Amid Containment Efforts

The country has been battling an Ebola outbreak since May, with confirmed cases reaching approximately 4,000 and deaths exceeding 1,800, according to Kaseya. Authorities said 60 to 70 per cent of new infections were being identified among people outside known contact lists, indicating gaps in surveillance. Government data showed that 674 patients were in isolation and about 75 per cent of identified contacts were being traced.

The response has also been disrupted by protests among health workers in Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of the country’s cases. Nurses and other frontline personnel demonstrated in Bunia on Thursday over unpaid salaries and bonuses, leaving several facilities without staff. Workers said they had not been properly paid since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, while officials previously attributed the delays to logistical problems.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged Congolese authorities to prioritise care and support for frontline responders. Doctors Without Borders said the outbreak continued to spread at an alarming pace and that assistance was not reaching communities quickly enough to interrupt transmission. Conflict, attacks on health facilities and population movement around remote mining areas have further complicated access, surveillance and contact tracing.

Also Read: WHO Reports 3,874 Ebola Cases and 1,751 Deaths in Congo