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Updated on: May 22, 2026 / 9:42 AM EDT
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An American doctor who was infected with Ebola while working with a medical missionary organization in Africa said in a statement Thursday that he is feeling “cautiously optimistic” as he fights the deadly virus.
Dr. Peter Stafford was working with the missionary group Serge in the Democratic Republic of Congo when he was infected with the virus, the group said. He was evacuated to a hospital in Berlin, Germany, to receive care, the group said Tuesday.
“Before I was evacuated I was feeling really concerned I wasn’t going to make it. And now I’m cautiously optimistic,” Stafford said in a statement shared by Serge.
Stafford’s wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, who also works with Serge, and their four children were also evacuated to the Berlin hospital, Serge said. They are asymptomatic and are being isolated and monitored, the group said Thursday.
The hospital, Charite University Hospital, said Friday that Stafford “is severely weakened but is not currently critically ill.”
“Because the course of the illness can change, he remains under close observation and is receiving treatment,” the hospital said. Stafford is in a “high-security area of the specialized isolation unit.”
The hospital added that his wife and four children are still “asymptomatic and quarantined in a separate part of the unit.”
The Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in Congo, which has spread to neighboring Uganda, is likely larger than what has officially been reported, health officials have warned. There are so far nearly 750 suspected cases, including 177 suspected deaths, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Stafford was exposed to the virus while doing a surgery at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, a city in eastern Congo, Serge said in an earlier statement. He has worked at the hospital since 2023, according to the group. Ebolaviruses are transmitted from person to person through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and medical personnel can be at high risk if exposed to sick patients.
Dr. Peter Stafford is isolated during his evacuation from Africa.
Serge
This is only the third known outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain. There is no known vaccine or treatment for it, health officials have said. The first symptoms are typically fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and a sore throat. Symptoms then can progress to vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rash, organ dysfunction and less frequently, internal or external bleeding. The fatality rate of the Bundibugyo strain is about 30 to 50%, according to the WHO.
Dr. Scott Myhre, the Serge director for East and Central Africa,