An American doctor who contracted Ebola while treating patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo has recovered and returned to the United States, according to Courtenay Harris Bond for The Philly Voice.

A Frightening Turn

Dr. Peter Stafford was declared free of the virus on May 30. He was released from Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany, where he had been isolated and treated since testing positive in May.

Stafford had been working with patients in Congo through Jenkintown-based Serge when the outbreak began.

Before he airlifted out of Africa for advanced care, Stafford said he worried he “wasn’t going to make it.”

Once he reached Germany and began receiving treatment, his outlook brightened, and he told Serge he was feeling cautiously optimistic as he fought the virus.

He evacuated to Germany on May 20.

Family Spared

Stafford’s wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, also had been providing medical care in Congo. She and the couple’s four children were quarantined as a precaution. Serge said they never developed symptoms or tested positive for Ebola. 

They have also returned safely to the United States.

Other health care providers serving alongside Stafford have been released and returned home as well. This includes Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, an internist who was monitored in Prague after a high-risk exposure.

LaRochelle said watching Stafford’s condition worsen before the evacuation gave him a glimpse of the reality his Congolese colleagues live with constantly, since an emergency flight home is rarely an option for them.

A Glenside Connection

The crisis hit close to home for some of Stafford’s coworkers. Patric Knaak, a Serge colleague who lives in Glenside, asked for prayers for the Stafford family in a social media post. “Please pray for our dear colleagues,” he wrote.

Serge Executive Director Matt Allison said the organization is grateful for the medical teams, government agencies, and international partners who worked together to provide care and contain the outbreak.

“I am filled with gratitude to God for preserving my life, to all those who prayed on my behalf, and to the many medical providers who cared for me,” Stafford said in a statement released by Serge. “I am feeling well and thankful to be reunited with Rebekah and the kids.”

A Rare and Dangerous Strain

The outbreak comes from the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, one of the rarest species of the disease.

Health officials say this is only the third known outbreak of the strain. No approved vaccine or treatment exists for it.

The World Health Organization estimates its fatality rate at 30 percent to 50 percent.

Outbreak Still Growing

The family’s return comes as health officials continue responding to a rapidly expanding outbreak in Congo and neighboring Uganda.

More than 800 confirmed cases and 192 deaths have been reported since the outbreak was declared May 15. These figures come from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Uganda has reported 19 confirmed cases and one probable case, the World Health Organization said.

A Familiar Echo

Stafford is not the first American missionary doctor to survive Ebola after contracting it overseas. 

Dr. Kent Brantly was treating patients in Liberia with the relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse, in 2014. He became infected and was the first American to fly home for Ebola treatment. He recovered.

About Serge

Serge, a Christian missionary organization headquartered in Jenkintown, supports missionaries, medical workers, and churches serving communities around the world.

Stafford’s recovery brings a personal Montgomery County connection to an international public health crisis that officials have warned could become one of the most serious Ebola outbreaks on record.

For more details on Dr. Stafford’s recovery and the family’s return home, read the original report from The PhillyVoice.