African nations battling the deadly Ebola virus, addressing a crucial
shortage faced by overwhelmed health workers, the country's Prime
Minister Najib Razak announced on Monday.
The Southeast Asian nation is a leading manufacturer of rubber gloves,
producing about 60 percent of the world's supply of latex medical
gloves.
Health authorities say that a shortage of rubber gloves in affected
African nations has led to more deaths and raised risks that the virus
will spread among doctors and nurses.
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The outbreak has now killed upwards of 2,400 people, mostly in
Liberia, neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone as poorly resourced West
African health care systems have been overrun.
"Malaysia can make a unique and vital contribution to the fight
against Ebola because we are one of the biggest manufacturers of
rubber gloves," a Malaysian government spokesperson said in a
statement.
"We hope this contribution will prevent the spread of Ebola and save lives."
Among the companies supplying the shipment are Sime Darby, Top Glove
Corp., Kuala Lumpur Kepong, and IOI Corp., the Prime Minister's office
said.
Top Glove alone has a production capacity of 42 billion gloves a year
and exports to 200 countries.
Shares in the big rubber glove companies have rallied in recent weeks
as fears grow that the virus could spread.
The Malaysian government did not say whether it or the companies were
footing the bill for the shipment.
Malaysia will send 11 containers, each holding 1.9 million gloves, the
statement said. Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will each receive
three containers, while Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo
will each receive one container.
Elsewhere, Malaysian health authorities have also reportedly
quarantined a Zimbabwean student in a hospital in Sarawak state on
Borneo island after he sought treatment for fever Saturday, the French
news agency AFP reported.
Jerip Susil, a state public health official, was quoted by The Star as
saying that the 24-year-old, who had been in contact with students
from Nigeria, was not vomiting or suffering from diarrhea but was
under observation as a "precautionary measure," AFP reported.
Test results are expected later this week. Jerip and other health
authorities could not immediately be reached for further details,
according to AFP.
The Ebola outbreak has ravaged West Africa, killing more than 2,400
people since it erupted earlier this year.
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