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Medical missionary group Serge said Monday that one of its US doctors, Peter Stafford, had tested positive for Ebola. He was exposed while treating patients at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, where he has worked since 2023, said the charity. Two other doctors from the group who were exposed while treating patients, including Stafford's wife, Dr Rebekah Stafford, did not have symptoms and were following quarantine protocols, the group said in a statement. The Staffords met in medical school at Ohio State University. (Halpert, 5/19)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is suspending entry into the U.S. for 30 days for travelers who have visited areas where there is an ongoing outbreak of the Ebola virus, the agency announced on Monday. That restriction does not apply to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or lawful permanent residents returning from Ebola outbreak areas. In a statement posted to its website, the agency said it would impose “entry restrictions” on passengers who do not hold a U.S. passport if they have been to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or South Sudan in the previous 21 days. (Gardner, 5/18)

At least 131 deaths have been reported in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 513 cases suspected, local officials have said. A spokesman for the DR Congo government said cases were now being reported over a wider area. There are also two confirmed cases and one death in Uganda, says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Santos, 5/19)

The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday that he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed” of the Ebola outbreak spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, as the suspected death toll in Congo climbed to over 130 people. (Zhuang, 5/19)

The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was only confirmed to be underway at the end of last week, is already the fourth largest on record. The deadly virus is spreading in a conflict zone where recent Ebola experience has shown containment will be a challenge. There is no vaccine that targets the species of the virus that is spreading there, Bundibugyo. (Branswell, 5/18)

The species of Ebola virus causing an outbreak in Congo that has killed nearly 120 people is less common than other Ebola viruses, which is complicating the response because there are no specific treatments or vaccines. “There’s nothing even close to ready for clinical trials,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist who treated patients in West Africa during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic. “And so that means responders, healthcare workers and other aid workers are really back to the basics.” (Shastri, 5/19)

The cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has docked at the Dutch port of Rotterdam for disinfection, wrapping up a troubled journey that put international health authorities on alert. The MV Hondius was still carrying 25 crew members and two medical personnel as it reached Europe’s largest port on Monday morning, after its passengers disembarked on the Spanish island of Tenerife last week. (Quell, 5/18)

A hantavirus death in Colorado has been confirmed as unrelated to the high-profile cruise ship outbreak that has raised global concern, health officials said. An adult in Douglas County, Colorado, died after contracting the virus through local exposure to rodents, according to state health authorities. Officials emphasized that the case is not connected to the outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, where multiple infections and deaths have been reported. (Blake, 5/18)