An American doctor infected with the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been transported to the special isolation ward of Berlin's Charite university hospital. The German Health Ministry agreed to a US request, allowing the doctor's family members to also enter the country.

The doctor's wife and three children, who were in the DRC, will join him in the isolation ward. It is unclear if they are showing symptoms. The doctor became infected while working in eastern DRC, the epicenter of the latest outbreak.

Charite's isolation ward is a bespoke containment area separate from the rest of the clinic, experienced in handling dangerous cases like Ebola. With modern treatment, the mortality rate drops from about 60% to 20-30%.

Ebola is transmitted primarily through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected or deceased individuals. Initial symptoms resemble flu or diarrhea before worsening, leading to death from multiple organ failure.

Source: www.dw.com