U.S. doctor with Ebola recovers from deadly virus, German hospital says
Article excerpt
Dr. Peter Stafford, a U.S. physician who contracted Ebola while working with a missionary group in the Congo last month, has recovered from the virus, according to his German hospital. Stafford was being treated at a medical facility in Germany after being evacuated from Central Africa. His recovery marks a rare success story in treating one of the world's most deadly infectious diseases, which carries a fatality rate often exceeding 50 percent depending on the strain. The case underscores both the risks faced by medical personnel working in outbreak zones and the capabilities of advanced healthcare systems in managing the highly contagious pathogen.
BERLIN, American doctor Peter Stafford on Saturday was discharged from Berlin’s Charité hospital, where he was treated for Ebola, the hospital told POLITICO.
Stafford had contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to media reports, Washington refused to allow him back into the United States.
The German government agreed to take in Stafford, his wife and their four children. He was admitted to the special isolation ward at Charité on May 20, where the Bundibugyo virus was detected. His family members did not contract Ebola but were also quarantined in Berlin until Saturday.
“Following a final examination today, the patient and his family were discharged from Charité in good health,” the hospital said in a statement. Previously, the local health department lifted the quarantine order for the family, since 21 days had passed since their last exposure to the virus.
Stafford thanked Charité: “I received first-rate care, including experimental treatments currently being tested for this type of virus.” He said his thoughts are with the people in Congo, who do not have access to this level of care.
“We are very pleased with the successful course of treatment and consider this a significant therapeutic success,” said Leif Erik Sander, Charité’s director of infectious diseases and critical care medicine.
At the end of May, Sander described the patient’s progress as “very positive,” saying Stafford had been “very weak” when he arrived. German Health Minister Nina Warken visited Charité hospital on May 27, where she discussed his condition with the attending physicians.
Charité’s special isolation ward is the largest facility of its kind in Germany. It is also the only one that combines infectious disease care with intensive care.
It remains unclear who will cover the medical expenses and whether Stafford and his family will now return to Congo, where he was working for a missionary group.