The doctor was identified by medical missionary organisation as Dr. Peter Stafford, who has been working at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia since 2023.
A United States doctor who contracted the Ebola virus while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been evacuated to Germany for treatment, as global health authorities intensify efforts to contain the deadly outbreak that has already claimed at least 131 lives.
The infected American medic is currently receiving treatment in a specialised isolation unit at Berlin’s Charité, according to German health authorities.
The doctor was identified by medical missionary organisation as Dr. Peter Stafford, who has been working at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia since 2023.
The organisation disclosed that Stafford tested positive for Ebola after treating infected patients in eastern DR Congo.
His wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and another doctor exposed to the virus are reportedly asymptomatic and currently observing quarantine protocols.
According to Serge, the Staffords and their four children have been relocated to a secure location for monitoring and specialised medical care.
The outbreak in DR Congo has continued to worsen, with health officials reporting over 513 suspected cases alongside 131 confirmed deaths.
The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak an international public health emergency, warning that the spread could be significantly larger than currently documented.
The current outbreak is linked to the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are presently no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is working to evacuate at least six other Americans exposed to the virus in Congo.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States government had approved $14 million in emergency support for rural clinics responding to the outbreak.
Rubio criticised the WHO’s initial response, saying the organisation had been “a little late to identify” the outbreak.
“It’s a kind of confined and hard-to-get-to place in a war-torn country,” Rubio stated while addressing reporters.
The CDC has also imposed fresh travel restrictions, temporarily barring foreign nationals from entering the US if they visited Ebola-affected countries, including DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, within the past 21 days.
The agency invoked Title 42 public health powers, while insisting the risk to the American public remains low.
US President Donald Trump said he was concerned about the outbreak but maintained that the virus had not spread within the United States.
The Ebola outbreak is concentrated in DR Congo’s conflict-ridden Ituri Province, where insecurity and poor access to healthcare have complicated containment efforts.
Ebola, first discovered in 1976, is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause severe fever, bleeding and organ failure.
The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history occurred between 2014 and 2016 in West Africa, infecting more than 28,000 people and killing over 11,000 across countries including Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Source: Sahara Reporters
