A U.S. citizen who contracted Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is being treated in Germany and is in stable condition, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said on Wednesday. The patient had been identified by the Serge Christian mission organization as medical missionary Dr. Peter Stafford, who reportedly contracted the virus while treating patients in the DRC.
Dr. Satish Pillai, the CDC incident manager for the agency's Ebola response, said in a briefing that six other U.S. citizens deemed high-risk were being moved out of the DRC to Germany and the Czech Republic. Pillai did not provide further identifying details about those evacuees during the briefing.
The decision to transfer the infected American to Germany drew scrutiny after a published report said the White House had resisted repatriating the patient to the United States, a move that reportedly delayed his evacuation and care. The White House denied that characterization when asked for comment.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai explained that the patient was flown to Germany because it is "12 hours closer to the DRC than the United States." He added: "Given that this American was in a very unstable part of the DRC, which as a whole is an unstable country, the administration continues to take the most effective actions to maximize this American's odds of survival and minimize the odds of further transmission."
Pillai declined to answer repeated questions on whether the United States was preventing citizens who were infected with, or exposed to, Ebola from entering the country. Earlier this week the CDC announced entry restrictions for travelers who had departed from, or been present in, the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan during the past 21 days. The agency also said a separate 30-day order would not apply to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and lawful permanent residents.
The CDC official reiterated that proximity to treatment resources was a major factor in evacuating the patients to Europe. Pillai said the transfers were intended to provide the evacuees with the necessary care as soon as possible, given the logistical and security conditions on the ground in eastern DRC.
Historically, Ebola patients have been treated in the United States. During the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and Emory University Hospital in Atlanta treated several infected patients and monitored others who had been exposed. At present, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Emory are serving as quarantine sites for 18 people who were aboard a luxury cruise ship where an outbreak of the Andes hantavirus was first reported; that virus outbreak has killed three people, according to U.S. authorities administering the quarantines.
The current Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC involves the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency, and public health officials have reported 131 deaths linked to the outbreak.
Pillai said the CDC is deploying staff to support the response in the DRC but did not specify how many personnel will be sent. In addition, the agency is deploying a "handful" of staff to neighboring Uganda, where two cases have been confirmed. He said those personnel are not being sent into the active outbreak area because it remains too unstable, but they will provide assistance to CDC country offices already operating in the region.
The CDC currently has around 30 people in its DRC office and about 100 staff assigned to Uganda, Pillai said. He added that there are no approved medical countermeasures for the Bundibugyo strain at present. However, he said there were active discussions about sending some monoclonal antibody products to affected countries as a possible therapeutic option.
Public health experts cited in the briefing warned that recent reductions in CDC funding during the prior U.S. administration, along with the formal withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization earlier this year, could undermine U.S. capacity to respond and to support international partners confronting the outbreak.
As the CDC continues to coordinate its response and to monitor evacuees, the combination of ongoing instability in parts of the DRC, the lack of approved treatments specific to this Ebola strain, and competing public health priorities such as the hantavirus quarantine operations have framed an uncertain and complex operational environment for U.S. agencies and international partners.
Key developments:
- The American patient is receiving treatment in Germany and is reported to be in stable condition.
- Six other high-risk U.S. citizens are being moved from the DRC to Germany and the Czech Republic for care and monitoring.
- The CDC is deploying personnel to the DRC and Uganda to support ongoing response efforts but is not sending staff into the most unstable outbreak zones.
Note: This report presents statements made by U.S. government officials and other organizations involved in the evacuations and response. It reflects information released during the CDC briefing and related public comments without adding new or unconfirmed details.