May 19, 2026
Dr. Frederick Murphy/CDC
A doctor who works for a Montgomery County-based Christian missionary organization is being treated for Ebola in Germany after becoming infected in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The photo above is a digitally-colorized electron microscopic image of an isolate of Ebola virus.
The American doctor who has tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo works for Serge, an international Christian mission organization based in Montgomery County.
Dr. Peter Stafford, one of three doctors working in Congo through Serge has been safely evacuated to Germany, where he is being treated, the organization said Tuesday.
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Stafford's wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and third physician, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, also are being monitored for symptoms after potentially being exposed to Ebola, Serge said. The organization, based in Jenkintown, supports 325 missionaries in 29 countries.
"Our medical teams labor in some of the most demanding settings in the world, serving vulnerable communities who have limited access to healthcare," Joel Hylton, one of Serge's directors, said Monday in a statement. "We are profoundly grateful for their dedication to the people of the DRC, and we deeply lament the hardship they are enduring under this current threat. Our concern extends equally to our Congolese colleagues and friends in the region who face these same risks."
Stafford, a surgeon specializing in burn care, had been treating patients for several years in Congo's Ituri Province, where the Ebola outbreak was first identified, Serge said. He sought testing after becoming symptomatic and is now getting advanced medical care.
Four other Americans have been identified as "high-risk" contacts and also have been sent to Germany, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Ebola is a severe illness that can be fatal. Symptoms generally begin 8 to 10 days after exposure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. They initially may include fever, aches, pains and fatigue and advance to include diarrhea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding. People can contract Ebola by coming in contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency Saturday. As of Tuesday, at least 513 suspected cases and 131 suspected deaths have been recorded in Congo. Uganda also has two confirmed cases.
"There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time," the WHO said Saturday, calling for a coordinated international response.
On Monday, the CDC restricted travel into the United States for people who had been to Congo, Uganda and Sudan within the previous 21 days, according to the New York Times.
"To the American public, the risk to the United States remains low," Satish Pillai, CDC Ebola response incident manager, told the Washington Post. "Travelers to the region should avoid contact with sick people, report symptoms immediately and follow our travel guidance."
The WHO has declared a public health emergency two other times due to Ebola outbreaks. Since 1976, there have been roughly 30 Ebola outbreaks. The largest in West Africa occurred in 2013 and 2014, killing 11,000 people.
"I don't think this outbreak will come anywhere close to that scale," Dr. Amesh Adalja, spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America, told Becker's Hospital Review.
