Berlin, Germany. A US citizen who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being treated in Germany and is in stable condition, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. The CDC said six other high-risk US citizens were being moved from the DRC to Germany and the Czech Republic.
Patient identified by mission organization
The patient had been previously identified by the Serge Christian mission organization as medical missionary Dr. Peter Stafford. Serge said Stafford contracted Ebola while treating patients.
Report cites White House concerns over US return
The Washington Post, citing five people familiar with the US Ebola response, reported that the White House resisted allowing Stafford to return to the United States, delaying his evacuation and care. The Post also reported that the wife and children of another missionary with the same group were allowed to return to the United States after CDC medical experts assessed the family twice.
Pillai did not address repeated questions on whether the United States was barring citizens who were infected with or exposed to Ebola from entering the country.
Outbreak details and response
The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus in eastern DRC has killed 131 people and has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization.
The CDC is deploying staff to the DRC, Pillai said, without specifying how many, and is also deploying a “handful” to neighboring Uganda, where two cases have been confirmed. He said they are not being deployed into the outbreak area because it is too unstable, but will offer support to CDC country offices already on the ground. The CDC has around 30 people in its DRC office and 100 in Uganda.
Treatment options under discussion
Pillai said there are no approved medical countermeasures for this strain of Ebola at present, but there were active discussions to send some monoclonal antibody products to some of the affected countries.
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