Czech hospital to monitor doctor exposed to Ebola in Uganda

An American doctor exposed to the Ebola virus in Uganda will be admitted to a Prague hospital Wednesday.

The doctor, who is not symptomatic for the disease, will arrive in Prague to undergo preventative hospitalization and observation. The Czech Ministry of Health said that he will be treated at the Bulovka University Hospital “under strict safety and anti-epidemic measures.” 

The health ministry added that the doctor will remain in isolation for three weeks, but that the risk of Ebola spreading to the public is “zero.”

A new outbreak of the deadly disease began in May in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a small number of cases spreading to neighboring Uganda. On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency. More than 130 people had died from the latest outbreak by Tuesday, according to the WHO’s director general.

The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been working to evacuate American doctors exposed to the disease while treating patients in the DRC and Uganda.

The Czech health ministry said in Wednesday’s statement that “other American healthcare workers were transported to Germany.” One American doctor, who tested positive for Ebola, will be treated in Berlin’s Charité hospital. 

Nicholas Merrick, the American ambassador to the Czech Republic, thanked Prague “for providing emergency medical care to a U.S. citizen.”