Key facts
- An American doctor was treated for Ebola at Berlin's Charité hospital after contracting the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- He received experimental treatments and was discharged in good health.
- His family, who did not contract the virus, were also quarantined and subsequently released.
- Separately, a U.S. doctor transferred from Uganda to a Czech hospital for Ebola monitoring has also been released after showing no symptoms.
An American doctor, identified as Peter Stafford, who contracted Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been discharged from Berlin's Charité hospital. Stafford was admitted to a special isolation ward on May 20 and received experimental treatments. His wife and four children, who did not contract the virus, were also quarantined but discharged after passing the 21-day incubation period.
Stafford expressed gratitude for the "first-rate care" he received, with Charité's director of infectious diseases, Leif Erik Sander, describing the treatment as a "significant therapeutic success." German Health Minister Nina Warken had visited the hospital to discuss Stafford's condition.
In a separate but related development, a U.S. doctor, identified in media as Patrick LaRochelle, who was transferred to Prague's Bulovka hospital from Uganda for Ebola monitoring, has also been released. LaRochelle had been isolated since May 21 as a precaution after having contact with an Ebola patient and showed no symptoms by the end of the virus's incubation period. Global health authorities are working to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.