Germany has received an American citizen infected with the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), following a request from the United States, the German Health Ministry announced, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reports.
The patient arrived by plane in Frankfurt, from where he was transported to the city's University Hospital, where he is being treated. German authorities have not released details about his identity or health condition.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the patient is an American aid worker who was in the city of Bunia, the administrative center of Ituri province and the epicenter of the 17th Ebola epidemic in the history of the DR Congo, which was declared in mid-May.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on the social network Ex that the organization provided the patient with care and strict medical monitoring before his safe transportation to Germany for continued treatment.
The current epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, against which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. According to the latest official WHO data, the disease has affected 1,947 people and 704 have died as a result of the infection.