U.S. doctor recovers from Ebola after treatment in Berlin

A U.S. doctor who contracted Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been released from a Berlin hospital after recovering from the virus, as health officials confront a growing outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain in Congo and neighboring Uganda.

Dr. Peter Stafford was treated at Charité hospital in Berlin after being evacuated on May 20, the missionary group Serge said. Stafford had been working with Serge in Congo and was exposed during a surgery at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, a city in eastern Congo, the group previously said. Al Jazeera reported that he is believed to have caught the virus while operating on an Ebola patient before the outbreak was officially declared on May 15.

Charité said Saturday that Stafford received “antiviral therapy and additional supportive medical measures during the first week” of his care and improved consistently during treatment. The hospital said his initially high viral load fell sharply.

“Since May 30, no virus has been detected in the daily follow-up tests,” Charité said. “In accordance with internationally accepted criteria — complete absence of symptoms for more than 72 hours and negative virus detection in repeated PCR tests — the competent public health authority lifted the isolation order today at 12:00 PM.”

Stafford was reported to be in good health and cleared to leave quarantine Saturday. His wife, Rebekah, also a doctor volunteering with Serge, and their four children were evacuated and quarantined as well. Charité said none of them developed Ebola symptoms, and their isolation restrictions were also lifted Saturday. Stafford was reunited with his family the same day.

“We are very pleased with the successful course of treatment and consider this a significant therapeutic success,” Leif Erik Sander, director of Charité’s Department of Infectious Diseases and Critical Care Medicine, said in a statement. “On behalf of the entire team, we thank all participating specialties and departments that made the successful treatment in the specialized isolation unit possible.”

Stafford said in a statement provided by the hospital that he received “first-class care, including experimental therapies currently being trialed for this type of virus.”

“Words cannot adequately express my gratitude,” he said. “Thank you to everyone who made this possible. Our thoughts remain with the people in the Congo who do not have access to such care.”

The outbreak involves Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a less common strain than Zaire ebolavirus. CBS News reported there are no vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain, while Al Jazeera reported that three vaccines are being researched and set to be fast-tracked for trials but that no vaccine has yet been approved for the strain.

Case counts are rising. Congo reported 452 confirmed cases and 82 confirmed deaths as of Thursday, according to its health ministry, CBS News reported. Al Jazeera reported that Congo announced Saturday the total had climbed to 488 cases, including 86 deaths. Uganda has confirmed 19 cases and two deaths.

The World Health Organization says the outbreak, which began in eastern Congo and has spread to Uganda, is far from under control, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet also reported that the WHO has declared an international public health emergency and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the outbreak could grow into the largest Ebola epidemic on record, rivaling the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.

A third Serge doctor, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, was also potentially exposed while working at a hospital in Congo. Serge said in its last update May 24 that LaRochelle, an American, was asymptomatic and quarantined at Bulovka Hospital in Prague.