An American humanitarian worker who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been transferred to Germany for specialised medical treatment, German health authorities have confirmed.
The patient arrived in Frankfurt overnight and was taken to the city’s university hospital, where they are receiving expert care in a high-security isolation unit.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the humanitarian worker had been based in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, which is at the centre of the DRC’s latest Ebola outbreak.
“The patient has been safely transferred to Germany for continued follow-up care,” Tedros said in a post on X.
He added that the WHO had provided clinical care and closely monitored the patient before the evacuation to Germany.
The Democratic Republic of Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in mid-May. Health officials say the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
According to the WHO, the current outbreak has resulted in more than 1,900 confirmed cases and over 700 confirmed deaths.
Germany’s Health Ministry said the patient poses no danger to the public or to other patients at the Frankfurt hospital.
“The risk of someone infected with Ebola entering Germany is very low,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry explained that the United States requested Germany’s assistance because of the country’s extensive experience in treating Ebola patients and because Frankfurt is significantly closer to the DRC than the United States, making the transfer more practical.
The latest medical evacuation comes only weeks after another American Ebola patient received treatment at Berlin’s Charité Hospital. That patient, who was quarantined along with family members as a precaution, recovered after two weeks of treatment.
