An American doctor who fell ill with Ebola while serving on a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has returned home to the United States. Dr. Peter Stafford, along with his wife and their children, arrived safely back in the country, closing out a frightening ordeal that had begun far from home. His return came only after he recovered from a disease the authorities described as potentially deadly.
The news of his safe arrival was shared by a Pennsylvania-based Christian missions organization, the group connected to the humanitarian work that had taken Stafford and his family abroad. According to the organization, the doctor, his wife and their children all made it home safely, a moment of relief after weeks of uncertainty over his condition.
Stafford had contracted the illness the previous month while carrying out his work on the mission in Congo. Ebola was described as a potentially deadly disease, and an infection of that kind, picked up during humanitarian work in the region, turned his case into a source of serious concern for those following his condition from the United States.
Despite the gravity of the infection, Stafford says he has been free of Ebola since the end of May. He pointed to May 30 as the date from which he considered himself clear of the virus, a turning point that ultimately allowed him to make the journey home and reunite fully with his family on American soil.
Health authorities have moved to reassure the public following his return. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that no Ebola cases associated with this outbreak have been reported in the United States, underscoring that the doctor's illness has not led to any known spread within the country.
The CDC added that, for the time being, the risk to the public remains low. While the outbreak continues to be a serious matter in the region where Stafford had been working, officials stressed that it does not currently pose a significant threat to people in the United States, even as his safe recovery and homecoming bring his own chapter of the story to an end.