An American doctor who contracted Ebola while working in Congo has arrived at a hospital in Germany for treatment, officials said on May 20.
Dr. Peter Stafford, 39, with Christian organization Serge, was transported to Berlin Charite Hospital, German officials and the organization said.
“The US government had asked the German government for assistance in this matter. We have complied with this request,” Steffen Meyer, a spokesperson for Germany’s government, told reporters during a briefing in Berlin. “Firstly, Germany has expertise in treating Ebola patients. Secondly, the flight time to Germany is significantly shorter, meaning that treatment could be started much more quickly here.”
Stafford was working at a hospital in Nyankunde in eastern Congo when he started showing symptoms of Ebola. He tested positive on May 17, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
An Ebola outbreak in Congo has exploded in recent weeks, with 51 confirmed cases, nearly 600 suspected cases, and 139 suspected deaths, World Health Organization officials said on May 20.
Stafford was quarantined before being flown to Germany, which was chosen due to “proximity and the access to the highest levels of care,” CDC incident manager Dr. Satish Pillai told reporters in a call this week.
His wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, their four young children, and a third doctor, who were also in Congo, have also departed the country and “are en route to other locations where they can be monitored in close proximity to expert care if needed,” Serge said in a statement on May 20.
It was not clear whether any other members of the Stafford family have developed Ebola symptoms, which can include fever, vomiting, and bleeding.
Meyer told reporters that Stafford would be cared for in Berlin Charite Hospital’s special isolation ward and that the risk to the German public is extremely low.
The German Health Ministry said in a statement that Stafford’s family members will be housed in the same isolation ward, based on a request from U.S. authorities.
Czech Republic Health Minister Adam Vojtech told reporters in a separate briefing that an American doctor would be transferred from Uganda to a hospital in Prague after he came into contact with an Ebola patient.
The doctor was not showing symptoms but was going to be hospitalized as a precaution, following a request from the United States, Vojtech said.
“There is no real risk to the wider public,” Vojtech told the press conference.
He noted that strict protocols would be followed in the transfer and that the patient would be isolated for three weeks.
Reuters contributed to this report.