Kampala, Uganda – A month after the Ebola virus erupted, Uganda hit September 2022, Edward Caiwa began to feel bothering: headache, fever and muscle pain. He knew that something was wrong, and that he had two options – go to the hospital or believe that the rumors were going on in his community and staying at home.

“I knew I was infected, but fear was overwhelming,” said 32 -year -old truck driver of the four -month epidemic and 55.

His fear of conspiracy theories arose to patients in society with the materials that killed them immediately. It took two days to realize that he did not kill anyone and others to recover. After that, “I personally called an ambulance to take me,” he says.

The health crisis of 2022 was the seventh Ebola outbreak in Uganda – a severe bleeding disease – the fifth of the Sudan virus breed (SVD), which is more than 40 percent of deaths.

Kayiwa – one of 142 confirmed cases at the time – was fortunate to survive, although many others were not.

Now, only two years later, on January 30, 2025, Uganda announced the latest outbreak in Ebola, Sudan. The Ministry of Health has identified a 32 -year -old male nurse and died as the first documented case. He was an employee of the Mawajo National Hospital for referral, the country’s best medical facility.

The nurse initially developed a fever -like symptom and requested treatment in two health facilities in the Greater Kampala region and the other in eastern Uganda, near the Kenyan border.

Although there is no approved vaccine for the Sudanese Ebola strain, the Zaire vaccine in Ebola-which caused the West Africa 2013-2016 epidemic was developed by more than 11,000 people-developed in 2022. Zaire’s breed, which was first discovered in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as Zaire), it is the most deadly in the four episodes in existence.

“In the absence of vaccines and treatments licensed to prevent and treat SVD, the risk of influencing possible serious public health,” said the World Health Organization (the World Health Organization).

According to WHO, symptoms of Ebola appear between two days and 21 days after injury, and can include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, fatigue, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding from the nose, gums, ears and eyes.

As is very contagious, patients must be isolated and treated. Medical workers who deal with Ebola patients are also required to wear full personal protection equipment, adhere to strict hygiene protocols, and deal with dead bodies safely to avoid infection.

Experts say that while the disease itself represents a major challenge for the continent, this is exacerbated by other obstacles to stumbling, including traditional beliefs, magic and conspiracy theories that hinder the treatment and control of Ebola.

In Uganda, the Ministry of Health said that the nurse who died last month visited the traditional therapist. According to what was stated, his relatives tried to limit his body to re -renew it according to Islamic faith. However, this poses serious risks as the bodies can still be infectious for a period after death.

When he was a friend of Ebola’s contractor in Caioa in 2022 before doing it, they thought he was magic, and their first choice was to take him to traditional therapists. They also thought that he was suffering from a domestic known disease as “ettalo”, which caused non -interpreted pain, and tried to treat it in local herbal medicine.

The theories of conspiracy also prevailed during the outbreak of 2022, which started in the Mobonde area, an area about 160 km (100 miles) of Kampala, famous for craft gold mining.

“When we first heard about the outbreak of the disease, he was associated with the Cassand-Mobinde Gold mines,” says Caioa. “Many people, including me, believed that it is a conspiracy by officials to expel craft miners and take over the mining areas.”

Non -communication

However, the current fascism has come with new challenges.

The key from them seems to be no clear contact from government authorities about the outbreak of the disease; A reaction from the companies, especially in the tourism sector, which argues that the way in which its outbreak was announced is hurting the industry; The hesitation between some people exposed to the virus to accept a new vaccine was brought to trial.

In an event to officially launch the vaccine experience Last MondayDr. Daniel Kayapyenez, Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health in Uganda, along with other officials, including representatives from the World Health Organization, will not provide details about Ebola’s outbreak.

“The fascism case will be issued in a separate coordination from the vaccination,” Kyabayinze told the authorities. He said that the discussion of Ebola case updates, in addition to the vaccine experience, will lead to “a mix [of] The messages “, which he considered inappropriate.

The officials said that the Minister of Health will hold a media event later that day to give up an update. But this did not happen.

Emmanuel Einsna, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said he has no update to the status to participate and refer the island to high -ranking officials in the ministry. Officials did not respond to repeated phone calls.

Since the announcement of the outbreak, the government has not made more communication. Health Minister Jane Ruth Adeng told reporters on Wednesday that updates will be presented a week instead of daily.

“Do not ask us about cases numbers every day – this is not important. The important thing is to go to societies, tell them that they need to protect themselves, and make sure they are practicing information.”

She added: “The update is that we have the country’s cases in the country:” The update is that we have Ebola cases in the country. They receive treatment and improvement. “

A response from the tourism sector

From the beginning, the way to inform the current criticism of sharp criticism of the tourism industry in Uganda.

Amos Wikisa, a prominent businessman in the tourism sector, was published on X who criticizes the government for weak strategic communication and argued that the story of Ebola was widely covered by international media, which led to the issuance of travel consultations against Uganda. Countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Mauritius, urged its citizens to take precautions while traveling to the country.

“Many Ugandan countries may target,” he said, adding that life was continuing as usual in Kampala.

He said in a separate post on X.

“I was shocked somewhat their connection to the way they did,” Martin Moghara, Minister of Tourism of Uganda, at a local radio station last Saturday.

In an interview, Muereza Kyamutetera, CEO of the Tourism Association in Uganda, said in an interview that a “conversation and coordinator” was needed before announcing the outbreak of health.

Kiamotira said: “The moment the news of the epidemic is published, the next day, tourism companies begin to receive emails to cancel and recover requests.” He explained that the outbreak of Ebola will affect the tourism sector for the entire year, in addition to previous incidents, affecting the country’s reputation as a travel destination for years to come.

“The reputation of the destination is the most important thing,” he said. He added that many international travelers may not be aware of the experience of Uganda in dealing with Ebola’s outbreak.

Although he was initially hesitant to roam what he described as a controversial discussion, Kyabayinze, the director of public health, told Al -Jazeera last week that international health regulations require each country to report any outbreak of a disease that is a major threat to the world society according to organized requirements World Health.

“Uganda, whose outbreak was decisive and important, and I think we did the right thing,” he said. However, he was quick to add that they “don’t want to disrupt travel, trade and tourism.”

To hesitate the vaccine

The World Health Organization praised the speed that Uganda managed to launch a random experience in vaccine during the outbreak of EBO in emergency situations last week.

In a statement, the organization said that the trial, which started in Uganda just four days after confirming the outbreak of the disease, is the first ever to assess the clinical activity of the vaccine against Ebola caused by the Sudan virus.

Despite more than half of the connections specified for the first death in Ebola are health workers and patients from the National Referral Hospital, only one person received the experiment vaccine last Monday. The same experiment was conducted at the referral hospital itself.

An official involved in the vaccination process told Al -Jazeera that one of the communications that initially agreed to receive the trial vaccine later other than his opinion. There were hopes that the individual was convinced to take the vaccine without the presence of the media.

Dr. Bruce Kernga, Director of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Michairi and CEO of the University of Micerier Institute, which leads vaccine experiments, adopted that the vaccine frequency is still a challenge.

“My job is to remove this frequency. I did it for Covid, and I will do it now.”

“What causes frequency is a lack of information. We will provide people with the information they need, and they will understand the importance of participation.”

What can be better?

Freddy Sinkoboba, a professor of public health at the Micrir College of Public Health, said while the government’s efficiency in dealing with the epidemic is not a question, the public deserves more information, especially in measures and how it should act.

“There is a gap in information, we are all keen to know what is happening.”

At the same time, the survivors of the former Ebola spread people to be careful and not to believe in rumors or conspiracy theories that can endanger their lives and societies.

During the time when Caio was in the hospital in 2022, he says he witnessed a lot of deaths, and the shock of that remains with him.

He says: “In the first room in which he was accepted for the first time, all patients died.” “Ebola is not a joke.”