MALUKU (DR CONGO) - The Ebola virus is spreading quickly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Authorities are worried it will reach the busy capital, Kinshasa.
Yves Matwa walks along the dock at the Bende-Bende river port, 70 kilometers (45 miles) northeast of Kinshasa. He uses a loudspeaker to warn people arriving on ferries from affected areas.
Every day, hundreds of people travel from northern and eastern DR Congo on wooden boats to get to Kinshasa. Health teams are increasing checks to keep the crowded city of nearly 17 million safe, as no cases have been reported there yet.
"They come from places where the disease is, so when they get here, we have to check them," said Matwa, a community worker wearing a t-shirt that says "Stop Ebola."
"I tell them to prepare and that if they have no symptoms, we can let them go," he added.
A line of traders and families waited at the dock. Three boats came in overnight from Kisangani, a big river city in the northeast where about 15 Ebola cases have been reported since May 15.
About 100 days later, more than 2,500 people have died, with half of those deaths in the last three weeks, according to UN experts. There have been around 5,000 cases across six provinces, but doctors believe there are likely many more cases of the Bundibugyo strain.
- Ebola 'mistrust' -
"I have heard of Ebola -- it kills quickly -- and I’m afraid there might be sick people on my boat," said the captain of one boat that came from the central province of Kasai after a week on the river.
Matwa said that every boat is carefully checked so that no suspicious cases are missed.
Nearby, teams check passengers' temperatures and look for signs of the fever. They also write down each traveler's contact details and where they came from and are going.
Each boat that might be risky is cleaned by teams wearing masks and boots.
"The time it takes for symptoms to show is between two and 21 days. A person might get sick later at home, but we can find them," Matwa said, hopefully.
Thousands of people, who mostly can't pay for flights across the large country of over 100 million, use the Congo River every day. This has made it important in the search for Ebola.
"If one case comes to Kinshasa, it would be a disaster. The cases would then increase," said a doctor who wanted to stay anonymous.
Many passengers are surprised to see medical teams waiting when their ferry arrives.
"It can be hard to get them to leave the boat and get checked," said nurse Cecile Kisangu. "Some don't believe the disease is real and think we are lying."
The Ebola campaign is facing distrust from some people in a country where the government is weak and corruption is common.
The DR Congo National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) reported that 30 suspected cases have tested negative for the Ebola virus since a checkpoint was set up at Bende-Bende in early August.
However, the UN and other groups say the emergency is real. This 17th Ebola outbreak is the deadliest in DR Congo's history and is spreading quickly.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for this strain, and UN Ebola coordinator Julien Harneis said the outbreak is "growing fast."
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