An Air Force C-141 Starlifter loaded with approximately 2,000 pounds of emergency medical supplies departed Andrews AFB, Md., today for Kinshasa, Zaire. The Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance-owned supplies are expected to arrive at Kinshasa Airport on Sunday. They will be used in the ongoing efforts to deal with the possible outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in the Kikwit area of Bandundu Province of Zaire, about 150 miles east of Kinshasa.
Hemorrhagic fever is a serious and communicable disease.
It has caused several fatalities among the local population and among health care workers, including two Italian nuns. There are no firm figures on the number of persons who have died. Zairian authorities have moved to quarantine infected persons. Travel to and from the area may be restricted. Additionally, the Government of Zaire is working to coordinate delivery of sterile handling items such as hospital gowns and gloves and sterile hypodermic needles to the affected area.