An American surgeon who moved his family to a remote corner of Congo to work at a mission hospital is now being treated for Ebola in Germany. Dr. Peter Stafford, the only surgeon at Nyankunde Hospital and a doctor of "deep Christian faith," fell ill on Saturday with fever and nausea, then tested positive for Ebola the next day, reports the Washington Post. His nonprofit employer, Serge Global, says he likely became infected during surgery on a patient initially thought to have a gallbladder issue but who later died and is believed to have had Ebola.
"He's a very meticulous professional, and for every surgical case he does, he would be completely gowned in sterile garb and gloves and hats and glasses," Dr. Scott Myhre, a Serge regional director tells NBC News. "But that's not quite enough to prevent an Ebola exposure." Stafford is among more than 500 suspected cases in an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring Uganda that has been tied to about 130 deaths and was declared an international public health emergency over the weekend. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that he's "deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic," per the AP.
The strain that Stafford carries, Bundibugyo, has no approved vaccine or treatment and a fatality rate estimated at 25% to 50%, per the Post. For his evacuation to Germany, Stafford was ensconced in a "tube-shaped plastic bed" to keep the flight crew safe, Myhre tells NBC. Stafford's wife, Rebekah—also a doctor—and their four young children are isolating in Congo after she was exposed to a pregnant patient who later died, per the Post; plans are underway to move them and another Serge physician to quarantine in Europe. The US is funding up to 50 treatment centers to help contain the outbreak.
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