Ebola outbreak in Congo

Mission worker requests prayer

Larry Sthreshley, a PC(USA) health consultant who works with SANRU, a rural health agency in the Democratic Republic of Congo, e-mailed colleagues Friday, Sept. 14, about efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic. Larry writes:

Ebola cases and deaths come in waves. We have been through two waves and it looks like the third has just started. My colleague Bill Clemmer is traveling with a team from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for two days to assess the situation. He just sent me a text message saying that there are a lot more deaths than expected at Luebo since his visit there last week.

There are 12 dead at the state hospital, 18 at the Presbyterian hospital and many more at ground zero, 15 Kilometers north of Luebo. I also received a call from Bulape where they now have three confirmed cases. CDC has asked SANRU to set up a base of operation for them at Luebo and work with them to do surveillance and community education to help contain the epidemic. Until the team returns tomorrow night, I will not know exactly what it will all entail.

As you can imagine there is a great deal of anxiety at our mission hospitals. They are calling my staff every day asking what we can do for them. We have arranged for Mission Aviation Fellowship to have a plane available seven days a week for us and we will probably be flying into the area two or three times a week for the next month bringing materials and shuttling the CDC team around. Please continue to pray for the Congo.