Uganda is Almost Ebola Free Country According to the Minister of Health Dr. Chris Byaromunsi

By Roperfree 


Roperfree is engaging the Canadian government and the government of Uganda to remove travel restrictions placed on Uganda because of the May 2026 Ebola outbreak in Congo and spilled into Uganda with fewer cases which have been contained.

History of the Ebola Virus

The Ebola virus derives its name from the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire.


When the virus was first discovered and isolated during the 1976 outbreak, researchers chose to name it after the Ebola River rather than the village of Yambuku, where the outbreak occurred.

According to the National Library of Medicine, this decision was made to avoid stigmatizing the local community.


The disease first raised international alarm after Myriam Louis Ecran, a 42 year old Belgian nursing sister working at Yambuku Mission, died while caring for patients suffering from the then unknown illness.


When the international commission considered naming the disease “Yambuku virus,” Karl Johnson and his colleagues noted that naming Lassa fever after the Nigerian village where it was discovered had caused stigma for that community.


Johnson proposed naming the virus after a nearby river instead, and the commission agreed.



Bundibugyo Virus and Stigma

Bundibugyo virus is a species of Ebola virus that causes a severe and potentially fatal viral haemorrhagic fever.It was first identified in 2007 in western Uganda.


I appeal to the relevant international scientific and health authorities to reconsider the name “Bundibugyo virus,” or at least consider shortening it to “Bundi virus.” Naming the virus after a district in western Uganda has contributed to stigma against Bundibugyo District, Uganda, and its people.


This may also be contributing to the misunderstanding by some countries, including Canada and the United States, that the current Ebola outbreak originated in Uganda. 


That is not correct. Uganda has not had a locally originating Ebola outbreak; rather, it has recorded imported cases linked to transmission from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to Uganda’s Ministry of Health and the Government of Uganda.


The current Ebola outbreak was declared in May 2026 and has been primarily centred in Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 



By mid June 2026, the DRC had recorded nearly 900 confirmed cases and more than 230 deaths. Uganda detected some imported cases from the DRC, but no community transmission has been documented, according to the World Health Organization and Uganda’s Ministry of Health.


The Government of Canada’s official website in regards to disease outbreaks & current situation travel information states that, in May 2026, an Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus was declared in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda:.https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/ebola/surveillance-ebola.html 


This wording is misleading because Uganda did not experience an independent outbreak. The cases detected in Uganda were linked to people arriving from the DRC to seek medical attention and are regarded as imported cases.


Uganda has some of the most experienced medical professionals in Africa, with strong capacity in managing and combating major public health threats such as COVID-19, HIV/AIDS and malaria.


Uganda has also deployed more than 50 doctors to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to support treatment efforts and help prevent further importation of Ebola cases into Uganda.


Countries such as Canada and the United States should therefore reconsider easing travel restrictions to and from Uganda. 


The misinformation suggests that Uganda has an Ebola outbreak which is affecting the country’s economy, particularly the tourism sector. 


Families are also being separated as people become afraid to travel because of Ebola related concerns.


Uganda is being unfairly shunned because the name “Bundibugyo virus” creates the impression that the country is the source of the current Ebola outbreak. 


This is inaccurate and contributes to unnecessary stigma.


According to the Ministry of Health and CDC Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed cases, 15 recoveries and two deaths linked to Ebola virus disease caused by the Bundibugyo strain.



As a concerned Canadian citizen of Ugandan origin, I am conducting an Ebola awareness campaign aimed at reducing the stigmatization of Uganda as one of the countries associated with the current Ebola outbreak


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