PUBLISHED DECISION GUIDE
China sends medical expert team to DR Congo to aid Ebola response
A five-member Chinese medical team has arrived in Kinshasa for a three-month mission supporting the DRC's Ebola outbreak response.
A Chinese medical team arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Tuesday for a three-month mission to support the Central African country's response to an Ebola outbreak.
Independently written English guidance based on cited public sources. Every public guide is human reviewed; it is not an official translation of the source publisher.
Mission overview
The five-member team includes experts in epidemiology, clinical diagnosis and treatment, research, and traditional Chinese medicine, according to the National Health Commission, which organized the mission along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese embassy in Kinshasa and other government agencies. [cite: e8be0376-385d-4f37-9d7c-818c55c3be4a]
Lu Ming, an official from the commission's department of international cooperation, who is leading the team, said that all members have extensive experience in their respective fields and have participated in previous global medical aid missions and Ebola responses. [cite: e8be0376-385d-4f37-9d7c-818c55c3be4a]
Planned cooperation and response
We plan to establish communication and cooperation mechanisms with local governments, healthcare institutions and international organizations under the guidance of the Chinese embassy, Lu said. [cite: e8be0376-385d-4f37-9d7c-818c55c3be4a]
We also aim to obtain the latest, accurate information on the outbreak to formulate a targeted and detailed response, he added. [cite: e8be0376-385d-4f37-9d7c-818c55c3be4a]
Outbreak context
On May 17, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC a public health emergency of international concern. [cite: e8be0376-385d-4f37-9d7c-818c55c3be4a]
The cause of the outbreak is the Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccine and treatment. This strain of Ebola can kill up to 50 percent of those it infects. [cite: e8be0376-385d-4f37-9d7c-818c55c3be4a]
The WHO said on Tuesday that there were 321 confirmed cases and 116 suspected ones in the DRC. [cite: e8be0376-385d-4f37-9d7c-818c55c3be4a]
Public sources
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