Kibaale national park Ebola-free

Aug 03, 2012

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has confirmed that Kibaale National Park is safe and far from Kibaale district, the epic entre of the deadly Ebola disease.

By Steven Candia                                            

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has confirmed that Kibaale National Park is safe and far from Kibaale district, the epic entre of the deadly Ebola disease.

The wildlife body said the national park, a home to chimpanzees and famous for chimp-tracking activities, is functioning normally and far from the Ebola threat.

The authority in a statement signed by the acting executive director, Dr. Andrew Seguya noted that the park which straddles the districts of Kamwenge and Kabarole is over 90km from Kibaale district.

"The chimpanzees in Kibaale National Park are not the cause of the Ebola outbreak and they are safe to track," Seguya noted in the statement.

Chimp-tracking is a major source of revenue for Uganda’s tourism industry.

The national park is currently handling up to 50 tourists a day from all corners of the world. Other nearby game parks like Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are also operating normally.

But UWA acknowledged the threat and a number of safety tips, advising tourists to among other things avoid making unnecessary stopovers en route to the national parks and also desist from shaking hands with anyone.

The authority advised tour companies to ascertain in advance the safety routes to national parks and cautioned tourists and their minders to avoid eating in restaurants outside their places of abode.

Government recently announced a fresh outbreak of the Ebola disease which by Wednesday this week had left 25 people admitted.

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