As a surgery resident at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Peter Stafford had his sights set on working in Africa, where he and his wife, Rebekah, hoped to serve as medical missionaries.
On Sunday, while working his dream job, Dr. Stafford, 39, tested positive for the Ebola virus, becoming the first American known to have contracted the virus amid an escalating outbreak in East Africa.
Dr. Stafford was flown to Germany to be treated at the Charité hospital in Berlin, where he has received an infusion of monoclonal antibodies.
“Before I was evacuated I was feeling really concerned I wasn’t going to make it,” he said in a statement on Thursday. “And now I’m cautiously optimistic.”
Dr. Stafford’s wife and their four children, who were exposed to the virus but were asymptomatic, were evacuated to the same German hospital.
Dr. Stafford was most likely infected on May 9, while treating a woman who had a fever and severe stomach pain, said Dr. Scott Myhre, the area director for East and Central Africa for Serge, the Christian mission organization Dr. Stafford works for. It was only after the patient died and the Ebola outbreak had been declared that the woman was presumed to have had the virus.
The outbreak in that region has sickened around 750 people, and killed about 177, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. The species of Ebola responsible for this outbreak, known as Bundibugyo, is relatively rare. Early symptoms are similar to those of malaria and typhoid, making it difficult to diagnose, and there is no known vaccine or treatment for it.
“People say, ‘Why didn’t he think it was Ebola?’” Dr. Myhre said of Dr. Stafford in an interview. “It’s because they see 1,000 cases of malaria that all look like this — fever, bone aches, weakness, fatigue.”
Africa’s leading public health agency reported the outbreak on May 15, and the next day, the W.H.O. declared the spread a global health emergency. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a 30-day moratorium on people who are not citizens or permanent residents entering the United States if they have visited areas where there is an ongoing outbreak, including Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. But the C.D.C. said the overall risk to the American public remains low.
In addition to Dr. Stafford, another medical missionary, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, was also exposed while treating patients. He was evacuated to Bulokva Hospital in Prague, where he is being monitored.
Dr. Stafford grew up in Columbus, Ohio, as one of five boys, said his wife, Rebekah Stafford, who is also a doctor. His parents were deeply religious, and as a child, Dr. Stafford was influenced by medical missionaries, she said, adding that she Dr. Stafford in 2009 during medical school. The couple went on to the University of Kentucky for their residencies — Peter in surgery and Rebekah and obstetrics and gynecology.
They paid down their loans and completed brief medical missions abroad during their training, according to several doctors who trained with the couple.
“They always focused on their end game,” said Daniel Miller, who completed residency with Dr. Peter Stafford and knew of the couple’s hope to serve as medical missionaries in Africa. “This was their total dream work.”
Among his colleagues, Dr. Stafford is known for his thoughtful, quiet demeanor. During his residency, he was the kind of person who would come early and stay late, said Sam Carmichael, another fellow resident. And he was known to stay calm under pressure.
“The building could be burning down, and he’d be completely cool headed,” said Dr. Justin Peterson, who completed residency with Dr. Stafford.
After the couple finished their residencies in 2018, they spent about two years working in Africa, in Togo and in Congo.
In 2022, Dr. Stafford completed a burn surgery fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University. The family then returned to Africa to work as medical missionaries in Nyankunde, Congo, through Serge.
“Our heart grew for Congo over time,” Rebekah wrote in a text message on Friday morning. “And now it is hard to imagine any other place home.”
Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
Pooja Salhotra covers breaking news across the United States.
The post American Doctor With Ebola Says He Is ‘Optimistic’ for Recovery appeared first on New York Times.
