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Stamford-Based AmeriCares Sends First Ebola Aid Shipment To Guinea

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Stamford-based AmeriCares is moving to help another West African country deal with the Ebola virus outbreak as it announced Friday it is sending nearly 30,000 pounds of equipment to Guinea.

An AmeriCares shipment is headed to help fight the Ebola outbreak in Guinea.

An AmeriCares shipment is headed to help fight the Ebola outbreak in Guinea.

Photo Credit: Contributed

It's the first shipment to Guinea by AmeriCares and includes more than 350,000 masks, 35,000 gowns and other protective equipment to support that country's health-care workers who are dealing with Ebola patients.

“There are new cases of the virus reported every week in Guinea,” said AmeriCares Vice President of Emergency Response Garrett Ingoglia. “With the proper protective gear, we know we can stop the virus from spreading to health workers who offer the best hope for containing the epidemic.”

A 33-year-old New York City doctor who recently returned from Guinea tested positive for the Ebola virus Thursday night. He is the first person in the tristate area to contract the rare and deadly disease. Craig Allen Spencer, a Harlem resident, worked with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea. He tested positive at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where he is being treated in isolation.

The shipment will be delivered on a humanitarian flight organized by Airlink, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that connects aid organizations with free passenger and cargo transportation. 

“This Ebola epidemic is the worst in history and supporting the health workers on the front lines is our top priority,” said AmeriCares spokeswoman Donna Porstner. “There is virtually an endless need for protective equipment not just in the Ebola treatment units, but at all levels of the health care system from hospitals to primary care clinics.”

Nearly 10,000 people have been infected with the Ebola virus across West Africa and about half have died from the outbreak. The World Health Organization has warned there could be up to 10,000 new cases a week in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone by December.

AmeriCares first became involved in the spring when it provided equipment to frontline health care workers and has continued to provided aid to the affected area.

AmeriCares has delivered more than $1.3 million in aid to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea for the crisis. An AmeriCares Emergency Response Team is in Liberia overseeing the organization’s response to the outbreak and working closely with health officials coordinating the relief efforts.

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