A US doctor who contracted Ebola was so weak he could barely stand when he was evacuated to Germany for treatment, colleagues have reported.
Doctor's Condition at Departure
Dr Peter Stafford, a medical missionary with the Christian group Serge, tested positive for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was flown to Germany on Tuesday for specialist care.
Dr Scott Myhre, East and Central Africa area director for Serge, described Stafford's condition as he left the DRC. 'There were people in full PPE, completely covered, and he was hanging on them barely strong enough to walk,' Myhre told NBC News. 'He looked really tired and really sick.'
For the flight, Stafford was placed in a tube-shaped plastic bed 'about the size of a casket' to protect the crew from infection.
Surgical Exposure
Stafford worked at Nyankunde Hospital in Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak. Days before the Africa CDC confirmed the outbreak, he operated on a 33-year-old patient with severe abdominal pain. Doctors initially suspected a gallbladder infection, but during surgery Stafford found the gallbladder was normal and closed the incision. The patient died the next day.
Days later, it was realised the patient likely died of Ebola, but had been buried before testing could occur.
Stafford quarantined himself as soon as symptoms appeared, including chills, fever, muscle aches, fatigue and nausea.
Family and Colleagues Monitored
Stafford's wife, Rebekah, also a doctor, treated the same patient and is being monitored along with their four children. Another physician, Patrick LaRochelle, is also under observation after exposure to a second patient. Neither has shown signs of illness.
Rebekah and the children are being transported to Berlin's Charite University Hospital, where Stafford is receiving care. LaRochelle is being transferred to Bulovka Hospital in Prague.
Outbreak Details
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, closely related to Zaire ebolavirus which caused the 2013-2016 West African epidemic. Case fatality rates in past Bundibugyo outbreaks range from 30 to 50 percent, according to the WHO.
The WHO has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, with 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths.
