DR Congo river boat under quarantine for Ebola after five deaths

Congolese authorities are carrying out Ebola and cholera screening for all 255 passengers aboard a boat intercepted on the Congo River.

The Yingfeng 2 - operated by a Chinese company - was halted near Bende Bende port, some 65km (40 miles) upstream from the capital, Kinshasa.

Health Minister Roger Kamba said screening was being carried out as a precautionary measure after a passenger with fever and diarrhoea, who had got off at an earlier stop, had died in hospital. A further two adults, a three-year-old child and a newborn have also died.

Teams from the health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) have boarded the boat and set up a mobile lab to conduct tests.

"For now, no-one has tested positive, and it is likely no one will be positive after 21 days of incubation has elapsed," Kamba told reporters.

The vessel departed Kisangani, DR Congo's third largest city, about two weeks ago, the BBC understands.

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