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Ugandans rue link to Bundibugyo, the Ebola virus type named after a district of cocoa farmers
Ugandan officials say the virus was first identified in Bundibugyo and warn the current outbreak has fueled stigma and travel restrictions.
- Ugandan government spokesman Alan Kasujja urged The World Health Organization to clarify that Uganda is not the epicenter of the latest outbreak, as health authorities remain adamant there is "no Ebola" in the country.
- Named after a 2007 outbreak in a picturesque Ugandan district that killed at least 37 people, the "Bundibugyo" virus label is causing concern, though the WHO typically names viruses after the location of first identification.
- With 160 suspected deaths reported in two provinces, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni emphasized that the current outbreak is on "the Congo side" mainly, with Uganda recording only two cases involving Congolese nationals.
- Museveni urged Ugandans to "stop shaking hands" to avoid infection, suspended public transportation and flights between Congo and Uganda, and postponed an annual religious event near Kampala.
- The United Nations remains sensitive to descriptors that may expose communities to stigmatization, as Museveni stated on X, "Bundibugyo is too beautiful to be the name of a disease," seeking to reclaim the district's reputation.
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Ugandans rue link to Bundibugyo, the Ebola virus type named after a district of cocoa farmers
Bundibugyo is the somewhat easy-to-mispronounce name of a species of Ebola. But firstly it's a mountainous district in western Uganda that even some locals would struggle to pinpoint on a map.
·United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources48
Leaning Left20Leaning Right7Center16Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Left
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources lean Left
47% Left
L 47%
C 37%
R 16%
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