American missionary evacuated after testing positive for Ebola in Congo

Dr. Peter Stafford, an American medical missionary in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, was evacuated after testing positive for Ebola, a case that has quickly become a test of outbreak containment and cross-border medical readiness. Stafford, who worked at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, was exposed while treating patients and developed symptoms over the weekend before testing positive late Sunday, May 18, 2026.

Serge, the missionary organization that sent him, said Stafford had served in the region since 2023. The group said he was one of three medical missionaries treating patients when the outbreak began. His wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and Dr. Patrick LaRochelle remained asymptomatic and had followed quarantine protocols after possible exposure. The Staffords’ four young children were being monitored as preparations for evacuation moved forward.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the immediate risk to the U.S. public remained low, and no Ebola cases tied to the outbreak had been confirmed in the United States. Even so, U.S. officials moved to evacuate Stafford to Germany for care, along with six other Americans who had been exposed and were being sent there for treatment, monitoring, or both. The arrangement underscores how quickly public health authorities are trying to separate individual medical care from broader community risk.

The outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which the CDC said has historically carried a death rate of 25% to 50% and has no vaccine or treatment. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on May 17, citing its scale and speed.

The numbers have risen sharply across eastern Congo and into neighboring Uganda. As of Sunday, the CDC said more than 300 suspected cases and 88 suspected deaths had been reported. Congo health officials later reported 393 suspected cases and 105 suspected deaths, while the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention counted at least 65 deaths and 246 cases in Ituri province in one outbreak tally.

Washington has also tightened its response. U.S. officials announced 30-day travel restrictions for some people arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Uganda, even as the government emphasized that the outbreak had not produced confirmed U.S. cases. The CDC said it was deploying technical experts from Atlanta to the outbreak area, a sign that containment efforts are now extending well beyond the hospital in Bunia where Stafford was first exposed.