US Christian Doctor Tests Positive For Ebola In Congo Outbreak

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

WASHINGTON/KINSHASA (Worthy News) – Franklin Graham, the U.S. evangelist who leads the Christian humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, has expressed concern about the plight of an American Christian doctor working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after he tested positive for the potentially deadly Ebola virus amid a growing outbreak there.

“I would like to ask everyone to pray for Dr. Peter Stafford, the missionary physician who has been evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo after testing positive for the Ebola virus. Please also pray for his wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and their four children,” Graham wrote on social media.

Graham added that the Staffords were previously “part of Samaritan’s Purse Post-Residency Program several years ago” before joining another missions organization.

“I spoke with Rebekah by phone today and told her we would be praying for Peter and their family,” Graham said.

MISSIONARY DOCTOR

Peter Stafford, a medical missionary with Serge, was exposed while treating patients at Nyankunde Hospital in northeastern Congo, the group said.

Serge said Stafford sought testing after developing symptoms consistent with Ebola and later tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people and can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea, internal bleeding, and organ failure, health experts say.

The organization said Stafford has served at Nyankunde Hospital since 2023.

EBOLA OUTBREAK

His wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and two other Serge medical missionaries who were also serving in the region when the outbreak began have not shown symptoms, the organization added.

“Our medical teams labor in some of the most demanding settings in the world, serving vulnerable communities who have limited access to healthcare,” said Joel Hylton, Serge’s senior director of mission.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that at least one American working in Congo had tested positive for Ebola and said the patient and six high-risk contacts were being moved to Germany for treatment.

Health officials stressed the risk to the American public remains low.

GLOBAL HEALTH ALERT

The CDC said it has activated emergency operations centers in Congo and Uganda and is deploying additional experts to help contain the outbreak.

The agency also announced new travel-related measures, including entry restrictions for some non-U.S. citizens who recently visited Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan.

Graham noted that Samaritan’s Purse has extensive experience responding to Ebola outbreaks, including deploying emergency medical teams and establishing treatment centers during previous crises in Liberia and Congo.

One of the organization’s doctors, Kent Brantly, survived Ebola during the major West African outbreak in 2014 in what many Christians described at the time as miraculous.

PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY

The World Health Organization has declared the current Ebola outbreak in Congo and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.

As of Sunday, Congo had reported 10 confirmed Ebola cases and 336 suspected infections, along with dozens of suspected Ebola-related deaths, according to health officials.

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