Dr. Peter Stafford Tests Positive for Ebola After Treating Patients in Democratic Republic of the Congo

An American doctor, Dr. Peter Stafford, who tested positive for Ebola after caring for patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was hospitalized in Berlin’s Charite University Hospital and began “starting to feel better and is able to eat,” according to his colleague Matt Allison.

“US doctor infected with Ebola 'feels good' and is able to eat, colleague says The doctor's family, including his wife and four kids, will join him in Germany”

ABC News

Allison, executive director of Serge, said Stafford had been receiving monoclonal antibodies during his hospitalization and that his condition improved after landing in Germany, with Allison adding, “He feels good. He's eating.”

ABC News

NBC News described Stafford as barely able to stand on his own when he was flown to Germany, with Dr. Scott Myhre saying he was “hanging on” his personal protective equipment and “looked really tired and really sick.”

Stafford, 39, worked at Nyankunde Hospital in Congo’s Ituri province, and NBC News said he quarantined himself as soon as he developed symptoms including chills, fever, muscle aches, fatigue and nausea.

NBC News also reported that Stafford’s wife, Rebekah Stafford, 38, and the couple’s four young children were monitored, while another physician, Patrick LaRochelle, 46, was being taken to Prague’s Bulovka Hospital for monitoring and care.

The World Health Organization said the Ebola outbreak in the eastern DRC had caused 139 suspected deaths with nearly 600 suspected cases as of Wednesday, and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned, “We expect those numbers to keep increasing.”

ABC News reported that the WHO convened an emergency committee on Tuesday night after Tedros’ declaration of a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, and it said the committee agreed the outbreak did not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency.

Ars Technica

ABC News also said the outbreak was first detected in the DRC's northeastern province of Ituri, with cases officially confirmed by the health ministry on May 15, and that it marked the 17th outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the DRC.

NBC News put the death toll at “At least 131 people in central Africa” with 531 suspected to have been infected, and it described the outbreak as fueled by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant with no approved vaccine or treatment.

ABC News added that Anais Legand, the WHO's technical officer for viral hemorrhagic fevers, said the priority was “to cut the transmission chain by implementing contact tracing, isolating and caring for all suspects and confirmed cases.”

As the CDC worked to evacuate exposed American doctors, POLITICO.eu reported that the Czech health ministry assured citizens that the risk to the public is “zero,” and said the doctor would be admitted to the Bulovka University Hospital “under strict safety and anti-epidemic measures.”

“The World Health Organization has warned that the risk of Ebola spreading in Congo and Uganda is high, with nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths, and the outbreak expected to continue for at least two more months”

ClickOnDetroit

POLITICO.eu said the doctor would remain in isolation for three weeks, and it added that “other American healthcare workers were transported to Germany,” while Nicholas Merrick, the American ambassador to the Czech Republic, thanked Prague “for providing emergency medical care to a U.S. citizen.”

Ars Technica reported that the Trump administration resisted allowing Peter Stafford to return to the US for care and monitoring, quoting a Washington Post account that “The president and his people did not want him back in the United States.”

Ars Technica also said CDC officials reported Stafford had developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive for Ebola late Sunday, and it described Stafford as in stable condition after arriving in Germany.

ClickOnDetroit, meanwhile, said the WHO warned the risk of Ebola spreading in Congo and Uganda is high and that the outbreak was expected to continue for at least two more months, while it described Stafford’s evacuation to Berlin for treatment and another American physician being sent to Prague.