Doctor Contracts Ebola in Africa While Serving as a Medical Missionary

Dr. Peter Stafford, a surgery resident at the University of Kentucky, always dreamed of working in Africa as a medical missionary alongside his wife, Rebekah. Recently, while fulfilling that dream, he tested positive for the Ebola virus, making him the first American known to contract it amid a rising outbreak in East Africa.

Dr. Stafford, 39, was swiftly evacuated to Germany for treatment at the Charité hospital in Berlin, where he has started receiving monoclonal antibody therapy. “Before I was evacuated I was feeling really concerned I wasn’t going to make it,” he said in a statement. “And now I’m cautiously optimistic.”

His wife and their four children were also exposed to the virus but showed no symptoms. They were taken to the same hospital for safety. Dr. Stafford seems to have contracted the virus on May 9 while treating a patient presenting with fever and severe stomach pain. The case grew serious only after the patient, who eventually died, was confirmed to be part of the Ebola outbreak.

This outbreak has affected around 750 individuals and resulted in approximately 177 deaths, as reported by the World Health Organization. The type of Ebola involved, known as Bundibugyo, is quite rare. Symptoms mimic those of malaria and typhoid, complicating diagnosis. Unfortunately, there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for it.

Dr. Myhre, regional director for East and Central Africa for the organization Serge, which Dr. Stafford is associated with, explained the diagnostic challenge. “People say, ‘Why didn’t he think it was Ebola?’” he remarked. “It’s because they see 1,000 cases of malaria that all look like this — fever, bone aches, weakness, fatigue.”

The outbreak was announced by Africa’s leading public health agency on May 15, leading the WHO to declare it a global health emergency the following day. Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has imposed a 30-day ban on non-citizens entering the nation if they visited regions affected by the outbreak, including Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. They stated, however, that the overall risk to the American public remains low.

Dr. Stafford is not alone in his exposure; another medical missionary, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, was also at risk while treating patients. He has been evacuated to a hospital in Prague for monitoring.

Dr. Stafford grew up in Columbus, Ohio, one of five boys in a deeply religious family. His upbringing was influenced by medical missionaries, and he met Rebekah during medical school in 2009. They both went to the University of Kentucky for their residencies—Peter in surgery and Rebekah in obstetrics and gynecology. They handled their student loans carefully and took part in brief medical missions during their training, as shared by colleagues.

“They always focused on their end game,” noted Daniel Miller, a fellow resident aware of their aspirations to serve in Africa. “This was their total dream work.”

Colleagues remember Dr. Stafford as thoughtful and composed. Sam Carmichael, another resident, mentioned that he often arrived early and stayed late, remaining calm even under intense pressure.

“The building could be burning down, and he’d be completely cool headed,” Dr. Justin Peterson said of him.

After completing their residencies in 2018, the couple dedicated about two years to serving in Africa, specifically in Togo and Congo. Dr. Stafford then finished a burn surgery fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2022 before returning to Africa as medical missionaries in Nyankunde, Congo, through Serge.

“Our heart grew for Congo over time,” Rebekah texted on Friday morning. “And now it is hard to imagine any other place as home.”