China rushes to the frontline in the fight against Ebola

When 36-year-old Yang Peng received a call in August requesting that he travel to Guinea, he knew why right away.

Yang, one of the youngest public health experts at the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, was to join one of hundreds of medical experts China dispatched to West Africa to help fight Ebola since its outbreak in March.

"I was expecting to be called to help and there was no time to be afraid," Yang told the Global Times, who set off on August 15, two days after receiving orders.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the highly infectious virus has caused 4,032 deaths as of October 8, most of which occurred in the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

After his arrival, Yang immediately felt the determination of the Chinese team. The Chinese Ambassador to Guinea Zhao Hongsheng said, "We should never abandon our African brothers at any time."

To date China has provided $5.5 million in two rounds of aid to the three African countries, with another package of $32.6 million in cash, food and medical supplies on its way, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on September 18.

China also earmarks $2 million for WHO and the African Union and $6 million to the United Nations World Food Program in aid.

"This is the first time China has participated in large-scale disease prevention and control work in a foreign land," Yu Wenzhou, a Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevetion (CDC) official, told the Xinhua News Agency after his return from Liberia in September.

Calling all doctors

During his one month stationed in Guinea's capital of Conakry, Yang and colleagues researched infected patients, outlined treatment plans and assisted local Chinese medical teams.

Currently there are more than 174 Chinese medical personnel working in the three countries, according to Xinhua.

While training local doctors and nurses is an important part of their job, there is a great need to raise awareness of basic sanitation among the public. Yu recounted tragic scenes of family members in Liberia kissing the bodies of those who died of Ebola before burial.

Those who had direct contact with the infected often fail to be identified or quarantined due to lack of hospital wards, he said.

"The poor medical conditions make me feel that there is no way to conduct my skills properly," said Long Yun, who also returned to Beijing from Guinea in September.

Treatment efforts were first spearheaded by Doctors Without Borders (DWB) and the local governments. "But if any of them ask Chinese doctors for help, we will not hesitate to join," Yang said.