LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Louisville nonprofit is ramping up emergency aid as a fast-moving Ebola outbreak spreads across Central Africa and overwhelms health systems in multiple countries.
WaterStep said it is sending sanitation equipment to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where health officials are reporting hundreds of confirmed and suspected cases of Ebola as the outbreak grows.
The organization plans to deploy bleach-making systems and handwashing stations designed to help clinics and communities produce disinfectant on site. Leaders said the goal is to strengthen infection control in areas where basic supplies are limited and supply chains are strained.
WaterStep said it hopes to send as many as 1,000 systems to affected regions.
The nonprofit’s "BleachMaker" system allows local workers to produce chlorine-based disinfectant using water, salt and electricity in less than two hours. The solution is used to clean medical equipment, surfaces and public spaces such as clinics and schools.
The Ebola strain driving the outbreak has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, according to health officials.
WaterStep said the effort is aimed at strengthening infection prevention as frontline workers work to slow the spread of the virus.
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