Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are testing all 255 passengers aboard a riverboat for Ebola and cholera after five people died during the voyage, the BBC reported.
The vessel, Yingfeng2, operated by a Chinese company, has been quarantined near Bende Bende Port, approximately 65 km (40 miles) upstream from the capital, Kinshasa.
Health Minister Roger Kamba said the testing is being carried out as a precaution after a passenger suffering from fever and diarrhea disembarked in Mongala Province and later died in hospital. Two other adults, a three-year-old child, and a newborn also died.
Teams from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have boarded the vessel and established a mobile laboratory to conduct diagnostic testing.
“At this stage, no one has tested positive, and it is likely that no one will test positive once the 21-day incubation period has passed,” Kamba told reporters.
He added that the boat departed from Mongala, in northwestern DRC, 22 days ago, where there have been no reported Ebola cases, contrary to earlier reports.
The passenger who later died had traveled on the boat for several days before being transferred to the Pimu Health Zone in Mongala for treatment.
