Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo said seven passengers from a river boat stopped near Kinshasa tested negative for Ebola after a suspected case linked to the vessel. All 300 people on board received temperature checks and clinical screening, and a mobile laboratory was deployed. Only symptomatic individuals were tested because Ebola is not considered contagious before symptoms appear. Authorities decontaminated the boat, provided aid to passengers, and expanded screening of incoming boats to protect Kinshasa.
Seven Passengers on River Boat Near Kinshasa Test Negative for Ebola; Screening of Incoming Boats Expanded
FILE PHOTO: A volunteer uses a megaphone to make announcements while intercepting a passenger boat, after, according to officials, a passenger who had disembarked earlier died after developing symptoms consistent with Ebola, in a place given as Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this handout image released on August 5, 2026. International Organization For Migration/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo
Congolese health authorities said on Friday that seven passengers from a river boat stopped near Kinshasa tested negative for Ebola, easing immediate concerns that the virus had spread after a fellow passenger suspected of carrying the disease died.
Officials intercepted the vessel in Maluku, about 65 km (40 miles) upstream from Kinshasa, on Wednesday after a 32-year-old man who had been on the same journey died late last month in Mongala province in the northwest. Health teams screened all 300 people on board with temperature checks and clinical assessments on Thursday, and a mobile laboratory was dispatched to the site to support testing.
Only seven people underwent Ebola testing because, as Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of the Democratic Republic of Congo's National Institute for Biomedical Research, explained, Ebola is not considered contagious until symptoms appear. Those seven had symptoms resembling malaria — including fever and headaches — and all tests came back negative.
"All the tests we carried out on the seven passengers from the boat who presented symptoms resembling malaria, such as fever and headaches, were negative for Ebola," Muyembe said.
Provincial health official Isabelle Lumbwe said the vessel was decontaminated and passengers were provided with food and medical assistance after the interception. Videos shared on social media showed some passengers protesting when authorities stopped the boat and prevented it from continuing its journey.
Screening Expanded After Alert
Lumbwe added that health services have been ordered to screen all boats arriving in Kinshasa as a precautionary measure to prevent the virus reaching the capital, which has a population of more than 17 million. The current Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 and, according to the latest government data, has surpassed 4,000 cases and about 1,850 deaths across five provinces in eastern Congo.
Authorities say the targeted approach — screening passengers and testing only those with symptoms — follows international guidance on Ebola transmission, which emphasizes rapid identification and isolation of symptomatic cases to limit spread.
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