American Doctor Infected with Ebola in DRC Evacuated to Germany for Treatment
Edward Helmore (The Guardian)
An American doctor infected with Ebola in the DRC has been evacuated to Germany, along with his family. The WHO warns the outbreak's scale and speed are increasing, with over 600 suspected cases and 139 deaths recorded.
An American doctor infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been taken to Germany for treatment, along with his wife and four children. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned about the “scale and speed” of the outbreak.
Health authorities have recorded at least 134 suspected deaths and over 500 cases of the Bundibugyo hemorrhagic virus, a strain for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine. The outbreak has spread to urban areas and has been declared a public health emergency requiring international intervention.
Dr. Peter Stafford, a surgeon and leader of the Christian missionary group Serge, said he unknowingly operated on an Ebola-infected patient before the disease was detected. His wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, also a physician, and their four children are being monitored for symptoms.
According to two leaders of the missionary group, Dr. Stafford could barely stand on his own when he left for Germany. Dr. Scott Myhre, regional director of Serge, told NBC News that Stafford “looked very tired and sick” when he departed. “There were people in personal protective equipment, they were covered head to toe, and he was clinging to them, barely able to walk.”
Stafford worked at Nyankunde Hospital in Ituri province of the DRC, where the Africa CDC first confirmed the Ebola outbreak. He operated on a 33-year-old patient suffering from severe abdominal pain. Initially, doctors thought the patient had a gallbladder infection, but according to Myhre, Stafford “performed abdominal surgery and saw the gallbladder was normal, then closed, but that patient died the next day.”
The patient was buried before testing for Ebola was possible, but Stafford developed symptoms and tested positive on Sunday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Myhre described Stafford as “a very meticulous professional, and in every surgery, he is fully wearing a sterile gown, gloves, cap, and goggles. But that wasn’t enough to prevent Ebola exposure.”
In an update on Wednesday, the WHO said there are now over 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths from the virus, mainly in the DRC. Although there are two cases and one suspected death in neighboring Uganda, the organization considers the global pandemic risk very low, but the threat to regional countries is serious. “We expect these numbers to continue to rise,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We know the scale of the outbreak in the DRC is much larger.”
