KAMPALA – The President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has called on citizens to abandon long-held cultural practices, including handshaking, as part of urgent measures to curb the spread of the Ebola virus.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The president issued an urgent appeal to the nation on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, from State Lodge Nakasero, updating Ugandans on the escalating Ebola outbreak and rallying citizens to join containment efforts.
Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed Ebola cases, including 14 imported from the DRC and five involving Ugandans, 13 active admissions, four recoveries, and two deaths among imported patients.
President Museveni observed that while Ebola remains dangerous, it is easier to contain because it spreads through direct contact, unlike the recently fought COVID-19 which was spreading through the air.
He discouraged handshaking and urged Ugandans to simply wave, stressing that survival from the current Ebola wave, which has no approved vaccine, depends on speed, supportive care, and early reporting to health workers.
“We have defeated diseases before, and we shall defeat Ebola again. Unlike COVID-19 which spread through the air, this virus requires direct contact, so let us abandon the handshake. Wave to one another instead. Without a vaccine for this strain yet confirmed, early reporting to health workers is your best chance of survival,” President Museveni remarked.
Dr. Charles Olaro, Director General of Health Services, revealed that four of the five secondary Ebola infections involved medical personnel who attended to a critically ill patient, warning that Ebola patients become super spreaders during the final illness stages and after death.
The Director General explained that as a dying person’s body becomes highly infectious, health workers must strictly protect themselves by putting on gloves, sanitising, and washing hands regularly.
“Four of the five secondary Ebola infections have been health workers who attended to a critically ill patient. When a person is dying, the virus rises to the surface of the body, turning the patient into a super spreader,” Dr. Olaro stated.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine, announced that Ebola management protocols are being revised because the virus can no longer be detected by blood tests alone, according to new scientific findings.
Dr. Atwine observed that sharing cups and bottles, or eating fruits partially eaten by animals or bats, poses a high risk of transmission and that even after the virus clears from the bloodstream, traces can remain in saliva, stool, vomit, and semen for longer periods.
The Bundibugyo strain outbreak is linked to a larger epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the virus first emerged in May, which has since prompted passenger restrictions in Uganda.
Meanwhile, Uganda and the DRC are now working together to establish treatment centres on the Congolese side in order to encourage early care and reduce cross-border transmission.
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