Although the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has been contained since earlier this year, a $20 million grant from the CDC will enable the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Boston to take additional measures to ensure the region does not face another outbreak.
Partnering with Boston Children's Hospital, UMass Medical School will use the two-year grant to continue the efforts of its Academic Consortium Combating Ebola in Liberia, a group led by UMass representatives that has implemented Ebola diagnostic testing, improved blood collection practices and trained thousands of healthcare workers on infection control best practices.
"There is no question the infection control and lab training efforts undertaken by UMass Medical School faculty in Liberia have saved lives," Michael F. Collins, chancellor of the medical school, said in a statement. "The mission is particularly meaningful, given our nearly decade of service working side by side with the Liberian people to improve their healthcare system, and we are grateful to the CDC for providing the resources necessary to support these ongoing needs."