BERLIN, Germany(AFP) —  A United States (US) man who caught Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo was discharged from a German hospital on Saturday after recovering from the often deadly infection following 17 days of medical care, the clinic said.

The Charite public hospital in Berlin said the man — who had been working as a surgeon for a Christian missionary group in the DRC — and his five family members who had all been in quarantine, were in “good health” and permitted to leave.

The hospital published photos of the man, previously identified in reports as Dr Peter Stafford, 39, who works for the charity Serge.

Stafford was said to have operated on a patient with Ebola in eastern DRC before the outbreak there was officially declared on May 15, contracting the illness which is spread through bodily fluids and close contact.

The Bundibugyo strain in the latest Ebola epidemic has no approved vaccines or treatments.

Stafford said he received care that included “experimental therapies currently being trialed for this type of virus,” according to a hospital statement.

He thanked the hospital and staff, saying “words cannot adequately express my gratitude” but added that “our thoughts remain with the people in the Congo who do not have access to such care.”

The governments of the DRC and neighbouring Uganda, where cases have also been identified, have reported a total of 471 people infected and 84 deaths, according to an overview Friday from the World Health Organization.

The WHO has declared an international public health emergency over the outbreak, which the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned could swell to become the largest Ebola epidemic on record.

The virus can cause a deadly haemorrhagic fever that, in the latest strain, has a fatality rate of up to 50 per cent.

The Charite hospital said the American had “pronounced” Ebola symptoms when he was admitted on May 20, but “the initially high viral load decreased substantially under antiviral treatment and supportive care”.

It said no virus was detected in his system since May 30.

The man’s wife — also a doctor — and their children had been under quarantine too as high-risk contacts, but the isolation measures were lifted on Saturday.

“Following a final examination, the patient and his family were discharged from Charite’s medical care today (Saturday) in good health,” the hospital said.