A local group is joining in the fight to contain the Ebola outbreak. More than 4,000 people in West Africa have been infected, and help is needed to protect the doctors treating the disease. News4’s Chris Gordon talked to people in the district working to make a difference.
In a small garage behind a home in northwest Washington, D.C., a non-profit group packed almost 300 hazmat suits to be used by medical personnel treating Ebola patients in Liberia so they don’t catch the deadly virus.
"These suits are essential to saving lives," PCI Vice President Richard Parker said.
PCI’s mission is to prevent disease and alleviate suffering throughout the world. The non-profit shipped 276 suits Wednesday afternoon.
“There’s a very short supply around the world,” Parker said. “We were able to procure these 276 suits through a medical supply company in California, so we bought them up as soon as we could.”
The Liberian Health Ministry will distribute the suits to health workers at clinics and hospitals fighting Ebola.
“This effort helps because what we can do to strengthen the health care system will allow us to bring more people into the clinics and get more people treated,” said Eliza Paul of PCI.
Some may see this effort as a drop in the bucket, but PCI believes it is life-saving cargo.
