Health
Recovery of patients is evidence Ebola will be defeated, says Museveni
"This shaking of hands, please stop it. You just wave at people now," he said.Although there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Ebola Bundibugyo, the President stressed that Ebola patients can survive when they receive supportive care early.
The President urged people who develop symptoms to seek medical attention immediately.
By: Nelson Kiva, Journalist @New Vision
KAMPALA - President Yoweri Museveni has reassured Ugandans that the country will overcome the latest Ebola outbreak, citing the recovery of several patients as evidence that the disease can be defeated through early detection, proper medical care and strict adherence to public health measures.
Addressing the nation on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at State Lodge Nakasero in Kampala today evening, Museveni said while Ebola remains a dangerous disease, it is easier to contain than COVID-19 because it spreads through direct contact rather than through the air.
"Some people have died here, but others have been cured completely," Museveni said, adding that five of the 19 confirmed Ebola patients have already recovered.
Museveni particularly discouraged handshakes, saying they increase the risk of transmission.
"This shaking of hands, please stop it. You just wave at people now," he said.
Although there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Ebola Bundibugyo, the President stressed that Ebola patients can survive when they receive supportive care early.
"With this disease, there is no vaccine yet, and there's also no direct medicine for treating Ebola," he said.
Museveni praised health workers for helping patients survive through supportive treatment.
"The doctors control the temperature. They rehydrate patients losing water and salts, they put them back," he said.
The President urged people who develop symptoms to seek medical attention immediately.
"The most important thing is to report quickly to the doctors. Don't delay," he said.
Museveni defended restrictions on passenger movement from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a larger Ebola outbreak is ongoing. The latest Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease broke out in eastern DRC in May this year. It first broke out in Bundibugyo in 2007.
Although there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Ebola Bundibugyo, the President stressed that Ebola patients can survive when they receive supportive care early.
"With this disease, there is no vaccine yet, and there's also no direct medicine for treating Ebola," he said.
Museveni praised health workers for helping patients survive through supportive treatment.
"The doctors control the temperature. They rehydrate patients losing water and salts, they put them back," he said.
The President urged people who develop symptoms to seek medical attention immediately.
"The most important thing is to report quickly to the doctors. Don't delay," he said.
Museveni defended restrictions on passenger movement from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a larger Ebola outbreak is ongoing. The latest Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease broke out in eastern DRC in May this year. It first broke out in Bundibugyo in 2007.
He said cargo transportation would continue because it is essential for trade and easier to monitor.
"We need cargo such as petrol, food and fertilisers more urgently than just saying, 'I'm going to see my relatives,'" he said.
He revealed that Uganda and the DRC are working together to establish treatment centres on the Congolese side of the border to encourage patients to seek care early and reduce cross-border transmission.
Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi said Uganda has so far recorded 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths. Five patients have recovered, and 14 of these cases have been linked to travellers from the DRC.
"This virus has different strains or types, up to six, but those which cause disease in humans are mainly three, and they are named according to where they were discovered," Baryomunsi said.
The minister emphasised that early treatment remains one of the most effective tools in combating the disease.
"If somebody comes early and is attended to by health workers, you can go through the sickness, and you get treated and sent home, like five who have been managed under the system," he said.
Baryomunsi revealed that Uganda plans to establish treatment centres in the DRC in collaboration with the Congolese government and the World Health Organisation.
"Instead of allowing many more Congolese to come into Uganda, we will go and work with the Congolese government and the people to establish treatment centres across the border," he said.
He noted that many Congolese patients seek treatment in Uganda because of the confidence they have in the country's healthcare system.
"There is a belief and perception in the DRC, which is correct, that there is better management of the cases here in Uganda," Baryomunsi said.
Health ministry permanent secretary Dr. Diana Atwine said health authorities are revising Ebola management protocols following new scientific findings showing that the virus may remain in certain body fluids even after it has disappeared from the bloodstream.
"We are now changing our protocol because we don't go by only the blood," Atwine said.
She explained that while patients may test negative in blood samples, traces of the virus can remain in saliva, stool, vomit and semen for longer periods.
"What is very clear now is that even when people clear in the blood, the virus takes a little longer to clear in the saliva, in the stool and in the vomit," she said.
Atwine urged the public to avoid sharing cups, bottles and other items that come into contact with saliva.
She also cautioned people against eating fruits that may have been partially eaten by animals and bats, particularly during the mango season.
The Permanent Secretary further advised churches to suspend the use of common communion cups.
"Right now, we do not encourage churches to use a single cup for Holy Communion because that is a big reason for infection spread," she said.
The Director General of Health Services, Dr. Charles Olaro, highlighted the risks faced by frontline health workers, revealing that four of the five secondary Ebola infections involved medical personnel.
"Four of them are health workers," Olaro said. He explained that the affected health workers had been exposed while attending to a critically ill patient, who later died. "The exposure was very, very huge," he said.
Olaro warned that Ebola patients become highly infectious during the final stages of illness and after death.
"When the person is dying, the virus also does not want to die with the dying person, so it gets to the surface of the body, and the whole body becomes very infectious," he said.
He described Ebola victims' bodies as "super spreaders" and urged health workers to strictly follow infection prevention measures.
"Our call to the health workers is that they need to protect themselves, put on gloves, sanitise and wash hands," Olaro advised.
"We need cargo such as petrol, food and fertilisers more urgently than just saying, 'I'm going to see my relatives,'" he said.
He revealed that Uganda and the DRC are working together to establish treatment centres on the Congolese side of the border to encourage patients to seek care early and reduce cross-border transmission.
Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi said Uganda has so far recorded 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths. Five patients have recovered, and 14 of these cases have been linked to travellers from the DRC.
"This virus has different strains or types, up to six, but those which cause disease in humans are mainly three, and they are named according to where they were discovered," Baryomunsi said.
The minister emphasised that early treatment remains one of the most effective tools in combating the disease.
"If somebody comes early and is attended to by health workers, you can go through the sickness, and you get treated and sent home, like five who have been managed under the system," he said.
Baryomunsi revealed that Uganda plans to establish treatment centres in the DRC in collaboration with the Congolese government and the World Health Organisation.
"Instead of allowing many more Congolese to come into Uganda, we will go and work with the Congolese government and the people to establish treatment centres across the border," he said.
He noted that many Congolese patients seek treatment in Uganda because of the confidence they have in the country's healthcare system.
"There is a belief and perception in the DRC, which is correct, that there is better management of the cases here in Uganda," Baryomunsi said.
Health ministry permanent secretary Dr. Diana Atwine said health authorities are revising Ebola management protocols following new scientific findings showing that the virus may remain in certain body fluids even after it has disappeared from the bloodstream.
"We are now changing our protocol because we don't go by only the blood," Atwine said.
She explained that while patients may test negative in blood samples, traces of the virus can remain in saliva, stool, vomit and semen for longer periods.
"What is very clear now is that even when people clear in the blood, the virus takes a little longer to clear in the saliva, in the stool and in the vomit," she said.
Atwine urged the public to avoid sharing cups, bottles and other items that come into contact with saliva.
She also cautioned people against eating fruits that may have been partially eaten by animals and bats, particularly during the mango season.
The Permanent Secretary further advised churches to suspend the use of common communion cups.
"Right now, we do not encourage churches to use a single cup for Holy Communion because that is a big reason for infection spread," she said.
The Director General of Health Services, Dr. Charles Olaro, highlighted the risks faced by frontline health workers, revealing that four of the five secondary Ebola infections involved medical personnel.
"Four of them are health workers," Olaro said. He explained that the affected health workers had been exposed while attending to a critically ill patient, who later died. "The exposure was very, very huge," he said.
Olaro warned that Ebola patients become highly infectious during the final stages of illness and after death.
"When the person is dying, the virus also does not want to die with the dying person, so it gets to the surface of the body, and the whole body becomes very infectious," he said.
He described Ebola victims' bodies as "super spreaders" and urged health workers to strictly follow infection prevention measures.
"Our call to the health workers is that they need to protect themselves, put on gloves, sanitise and wash hands," Olaro advised.