US doctor with Ebola treated in high-security isolation unit in Berlin

A US doctor infected with the Ebola virus is being treated in a high-level isolation unit at Berlin's Charite university hospital. The patient contracted the disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

US authorities had asked Germany for assistance due to the shorter flight distance to Europe compared to North America. Several family members were also flown to Germany and are considered close contacts, in terms of the infection, according to the German Health Ministry.

"A patient suffering from Ebola disease can be in a precarious condition. And on an evacuation airplane your means are limited. So, you want to have a short flight route but to a center with very high medical standards," said Thomas Pärisch, a medical doctor and CEO of Pandemic Shield consultancy, in an interview with DW.

Most cases of Ebola have occured on the African continent where in certain region places the virus is considered endemic.

It is a zoonotic infectious disease. It circulates in animals and can naturally jump to humans.

High-security isolation units prevent transmission

In Germany, Ebola patients are treated exclusively in high-level isolation units.

These facilities, such as those at the Charite, are completely separated from regular hospital operations. According to the German Health Ministry, this means there is no risk to the public.

Safety measures are extensive: Outgoing air is filtered, wastewater is collected and neutralized, and contaminated materials, such as protective suits, are disposed of separately from general hospital waste. Much of the medical care also takes place within the unit — from diagnostics to intensive care.

Ebola belongs to the highest biological risk category (Risk Group 4), as do the Lassa and Marburg viruses.

"Patients must therefore be transported and treated under the highest safety standards," said Torsten Feldt, an infectious disease physician and head of the Tropical Medicine Unit at the University Hospital of Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Staff wear special protective suits fitted with an independent air supply. And the units are negative pressure rooms, featuring advanced air filtration systems. The flow of fresh air into a negative pressure room is lower than that of the exhaust, and that reduces the risk of airborne contanimation. They also feature barriers, such an antechambers and self-closing inter-locking doors.

Germany boasts strong networks and experienced teams

There are seven such facilities in Germany, designed to treat highly infectious, life-threatening diseases. They are all part of the STAKOB network, which is coordinated by the Robert Koch Institute, a German federal agency.

The Charite's isolation unit is the largest of its kind in Germany and the only one that combines infectious disease treatment with intensive care. The self-contained unit can isolate up to 20 patients, without disrupting normal hospital operations.

Staff regularly train procedures and emergency scenarios. Some of them have international experience of other infectious outbreaks, including in West Africa.

Germany has built "a very strong reputation" through this work, said Feldt.

Rare but highly complex operations

Cases such as these are rare in Germany. The last time patients were evacuated like this was during the biggest Ebola outbreak and epidemic to date, in West Africa in 2014 and 2015. Several patients were flown to Germany for treatment at the time.

Every case involves enormous logistical and medical effort. "Even for very experienced doctors, it's something extraordinary," said Pärisch.

Studies have shown how crucial it is to have the best treatment conditions. While mortality rates during outbreaks in West Africa have sometimes reached more than 50%, they have been seen to drop to around 20% among patients treated in Europe after their evacuation from the center of the outbreak, Pärisch said.

Intensive care is key to survival

Treating Ebola is complex. For infections caused by the Zaire strain, specific medications are available, but for other variants, treatment is often experimental or limited to supportive care.

"Supportive care can significantly reduce mortality," said Feldt.

However, there is no approved vaccine for the Ebola strain in the current outbreak.

Two vaccines exist for the deadliest form of Ebola, known as Ebola virus disease (EVD). strains. But there is none for Bundibugyo virus, which caused the May 2026 outbreak.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is evaluating experimental, candidate vaccines — thoses in pre-clinical or clinical trials — but it may take months before any become available.

Containing Ebola requires global efforts

The current Ebola outbreak shows the importance of global care systems: High-security medicine is not just a national responsibility, say experts, but part of global health preparedness.

Even the most advanced medical systems have limits. According to the WHO, containing the virus often depends on factors beyond clinical care: "The key to containing transmission lies in grassroots work within communities" — including raising awareness, countering misinformation and ensuring compliance with hygiene measures, particularly during high-risk, contagion situations, such as funerals because Ebola is contagious even after a person's death.

The case also highlights a structural imbalance that could be corrected: High-level isolation units are unevenly distributed globally.

It is important to build similar capacities in parts of the Global South, said Pärisch, at least in politically stable countries where such infrastructure is feasible: "These high-level isolation units [are only in] the Global North. I don't understand it."

This article was originally published in German.