American Ebola patient in Germany not critically ill, family tests negative

A U.S. citizen who ​contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ‌where an outbreak of a rare strain has killed over 130 people, is not critically ill and his wife and four children have tested negative, the Berlin hospital ​where the family is being treated said on Friday.

"Because the course of the illness can change, he remains under close observation and is receiving treatment," Charite university hospital said in a statement. "He is being cared for in the high-security area of the specialized isolation unit."

The patient's wife and four children "are currently asymptomatic and quarantined in a separate part of the unit - an initial PCR test detected no Ebola virus infection."

The patient, ​identified by the Serge Christian mission organization as medical missionary ‌Dr. ⁠Peter Stafford, contracted Ebola while treating patients in the DRC, where he had been living with his family.

The White House said Stafford and his family had been brought to Germany because it is 12 hours closer to the DRC than the United States.

Charite said in its statement that the patient room had been made as child-friendly as possible, adding that the children were able to see their father "through a glass partition, and family members can communicate via an intercom."

-Friederike Heine/Reuters