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MSF staff member with Ebola Bundibugyo evacuated from Congo to Netherlands

Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its staff working on the Ebola response in Congo tested positive for Bundibugyo virus disease. The patient was flown to Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

3 outlets · 0L · 1C · 2R First reported Account updated
Image: Arab News
Image: BNO News
Image: The Straits Times

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The story, neutrally told

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Thursday 1 October that one of its staff members working on the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo had tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease. MSF said the person was being evacuated under a strict medical protocol, in coordination with health authorities in Congo and the Netherlands, where a designated hospital would receive the patient. Leiden University Medical Center confirmed at 10 p.m. local time Thursday that the patient had arrived by special flight and been admitted to its high-level isolation unit, where treatment is in strict isolation.

MSF declined to give specific details of the evacuation, citing medical confidentiality and the colleague's privacy, and the patient's condition was not released. MSF said that despite training and the highest possible levels of protection for staff, the risk of exposure can never be completely eliminated; it is responding in Ituri, North Kivu, Tshopo and Haut-Uélé provinces. Congo's government data on Monday put confirmed cases above 8,000 for the first time, at 8,067 cases and 3,901 deaths, making this the largest and deadliest outbreak in the country's history, surpassing 2018-2020 and second only to the 2014-2016 West African epidemic.

BNO News cited a WBC24 tally of 8,224 confirmed cases, 3,982 deaths and 2,121 recoveries in Congo, plus 20 cases in Uganda and one recovered patient in France, and noted the true toll is likely higher because of gaps in surveillance.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Follows the patient to the Netherlands, leading on the hospital's confirmation of admission to isolation, with outbreak figures as context.
Emphasis
Hospital confirmation, isolation facilities, MSF's confidentiality, and the likely undercount.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not list the Congolese provinces where MSF works.
For example
“admitted to its high-level isolation unit” — BNO News

Right2 outlets

Framing
Reuters copy carried by Arab News, leading on MSF's statement and the scale of the outbreak in Congo.
Emphasis
MSF statement, official case and death counts, comparison with past outbreaks.
Leaves out or plays down
Written before the patient's arrival; no hospital named or confirmation of admission.
For example
“MSF said on Thursday” — Arab News