Africa CDC thanks India for pharmaceutical aid to support Ebola containment in DR Congo
India has dispatched emergency pharmaceutical supplies as part of efforts to contain the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The Ethiopia-headquartered Africa CDC said in a social media post that the consignment, donated by the Government of India, was received in Uganda by its Eastern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre and will be deployed to affected communities in eastern DR Congo.
The supplies include essential diagnostics, therapeutics, infection prevention and control materials, and case management support, the agency said.
“Africa CDC welcomes the arrival of emergency pharmaceutical supplies generously donated by the government and people of India to support the ongoing response to the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC,” the continental public health agency said.
It thanked India for its “continued support and commitment to protecting lives and advancing health security across the continent”.
The WHO declared the ongoing Ebola situation in the region a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17.
More than 1,000 suspected infections and at least 220 deaths had been reported as of Tuesday, including seven confirmed cases in Uganda, though health agencies warned that the true scale may be higher.
The Bundibugyo strain, one of the six known species of the Ebola virus, has caused periodic outbreaks since it was first identified in Uganda in 2007. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there are currently no approved drugs or vaccines specifically for the Bundibugyo strain.
Ebola is often a fatal illness transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, contaminated materials, or infected animals. Symptoms range from fever, vomiting and diarrhoea to, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.
India has stepped up medical assistance to African countries in recent years, supplying medicines and vaccines, particularly during public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
—IANS
