Merck Acknowledges the End of the Ebola Outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
June 26, 2020 1:15 pm ET
KENILWORTH, N.J. June 26, 2020 – Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, joins the global public health community to applaud the announcement by authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declaring the end of the Ebola outbreak in the eastern portion of the DRC.
“While an outbreak of Ebola continues in the northwestern part of the country, ending the Ebola outbreak in the eastern part of the DRC is a significant milestone. This effort required cutting-edge science, strong public health measures, unity of purpose among the many global partners, and most importantly, relentless courage of frontline workers and patients,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, executive vice president and chief patient officer, Merck. “As the world confronts the unprecedented SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the DRC faces a new Ebola outbreak among other public health challenges, lessons from these efforts will help continuously improve response efforts to infectious disease outbreaks. These experiences are stark reminders of the importance of global solidarity as well as strong, sustainable health systems more broadly.”
Merck commends the leadership and courage of everyone who fought to end this outbreak and those currently responding to the latest event, particularly the Government of the DRC, the World Health Organization and its Regional Office for Africa, Médecins Sans Frontières, community organizations, health care workers, and frontline responders, many of whom sacrificed their own lives to save others.
Merck remains focused on the important work ahead and continues to collaborate closely with our stakeholders on efforts to help advance global public health preparedness against Zaire ebolavirus disease.
About Merck
For more than 125 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases — as we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
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