Congo intercepts passenger boat near Kinshasa that carried suspected Ebola case

DAKAR, Aug 6 - Congolese health authorities have intercepted a boat carrying 200 people to the capital Kinshasa after a passenger who had disembarked earlier died on July 25 after developing symptoms consistent with Ebola, officials said on Thursday.

The boat, travelling from the northeastern commercial hub of Kisangani, was intercepted in Maluku, a river port some 65 kilometres (40 miles) from Kinshasa, raising concerns about possible spread of the Ebola outbreak to the capital city of more than 17 million.

• Authorities have deployed a mobile laboratory to test all passengers and crew on board, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told a news conference.

• The 32-year-old man suspected to have died of Ebola had disembarked in Mongala province, some 550 km downstream, before developing symptoms, Kamba said.

• According to a Mongala provincial health ministry report obtained by Reuters, no biological sample was collected because the health facility where he was treated lacked testing kits.

• No other deaths were reported among the travellers, Kamba said.

• River journeys between Kisangani, in Tshopo province, and Kinshasa can take weeks, and communications are often limited.

• Tshopo is one of five provinces affected by the outbreak, with seven confirmed cases. The outbreak has so far infected 3,973 people and killed 1,801, according to government data released on Wednesday. REUTERS