As an Ebola outbreak spreads through the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, misinformation, skepticism, and distrust are emerging as serious obstacles to controlling the spread of the deadly virus.
At a June 19th American Community Media news briefing, public health experts, conflict researchers, and members of the African diaspora described a crisis unfolding not only in hospitals and villages, but also in the information space.
The World Health Organization has identified 1048 Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 267 confirmed deaths, as of June 21. An additional 20 cases have been identified in Uganda, with 2 confirmed deaths. Speakers cautioned that the actual numbers are likely significantly higher.
Bundibugyo strain
Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, discusses the public health protocols that should be implemented to stop the spread of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that has broken out in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
”There is always, in circumstances such as this, an under-reporting of cases and deaths,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “The counting of cases is behind the extent of the epidemic in actuality on the ground.”
The outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare variant for which no approved vaccine currently exists. Each of the six strains of Ebola are sufficiently distinct so that older vaccines cannot protect against Bundibugyo.
Though scientists are working round the clock, “we have no immediate near-term expectation that we will have a vaccine available,” said Schaffner.
The absence of a vaccine means public health authorities must rely on more labor-intensive interventions. “We have to rely on traditional, on-the-ground public health interventions. Finding the cases, isolating them, contact tracing, putting them in quarantine, working with the local leaders,” said Schaffner.
Fruit bats
Fruit bats serve as Ebola’s natural reservoir. The virus can spill over into humans through direct contact with infected bats, often during hunting and butchering, or through contaminated fruit.
“One theory is that hunters going out may hunt fruit bats as bush meat,” Schaffner explained. “In the course of butchering the bats, they may cut themselves or have blood from the fruit bats enter cuts and scrapes that they already have on their hands.”
Children also eat the fruit dropped by fruit bats and then come into contact with the bat’s saliva, he noted.
One of the most difficult public health challenges involves funeral and burial practices, which have historically played a major role in Ebola transmission.
“When the person dies, they are essentially covered with the Ebola virus, even in their skin,” Schaffner explained. “Therefore, the respectful burial practices that are so culturally important, showing affection and respect to the person who’s departed, are actually very dangerous for transmission.”
Family members often wash, prepare, touch, and kiss the deceased as part of longstanding cultural traditions, said Schaffner, noting that public healthcare officials find it challenging to balance traditional cultural practices while attempting infection control.
Mistrust of healthcare
Dr. Rachel Sweet, Frontline Observatory, explains why those organizing the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo need to have a comprehensive understanding of the country’s political situation.
Mistrust of public healthcare institutions is prevalent throughout the DRC and Uganda, said Dr. Rachel Sweet, an armed conflicts specialist who currently serves with the Frontline Observatory.
During previous Ebola outbreaks in eastern Congo, many residents viewed treatment centers and public health campaigns through the lens of ongoing violence and political repression. The problem was not a lack of understanding about disease, she argued, but a deep skepticism of the institutions delivering the message.
“People were afraid because they saw that the same military pickups that were protecting the Ebola response were also the same ones that could come at night and slaughter your family,” said Sweet. “And so when there was resistance against the Ebola response, a lot of it was resistance against these security threats.”
Rampant human rights atrocities
Much international reporting has also failed to accurately portray conditions on the ground.
“There is a twilight zone of difference between how these areas are portrayed internationally, and what they are like on the ground with the lived experience of being there,” Sweet said. Journalists and aid workers often operate under highly curated conditions, accompanied by military or security escorts, the researcher noted.
“If I were to go to these areas with a military escort, I would be very unlikely to hear about civilians’ concerns about the rampant human rights atrocities that are being perpetrated by the military.”
Sweet challenged common portrayals of the region as a lawless territory controlled by rogue militias, noting that in many areas the involvement of local authorities and the government had been “completely erase[d].” This fuels mistrust of government-backed health interventions, she explained.
Ebola skepticism in African diaspora
Pamela Asobo-Anchang, editor-in-chief and publisher of Immigrant Magazine, shares information from an interview she conducted with the president of the Ugandan Association regarding the Ebola outbreak.
Such mistrust is also evident within diaspora communities in the United States.
Pamela Asobo Anchang, editor and publisher of Immigrant Magazine said she encountered surprising skepticism while interviewing African community leaders.
One Ugandan community leader responded to her questions by asking: “What Ebola?”
“She said they were very skeptical about the veracity of the information,” Anchang recalled.
Meanwhile, members of the Congolese diaspora expressed fear for relatives back home and frustration over reductions in international aid, which will likely impede relief efforts.
In FY 2024, the DRC received $1.4 billion from the US in foreign aid, meant to provide humanitarian assistance, including the development of clean water and sanitation systems. But last year, the Trump Administration cancelled 83% of USAID’s existing foreign aid programs. Thus the DRC received a drastic reduction of just under $158 million in 2025.
Stigma
Anchang, who is from Cameroon, also found widespread concern about stigma, much like the Asian American community experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
People worried that identifying themselves as coming from affected countries could lead to discrimination, employment consequences, or social isolation. The result, she warned, is an environment where rumors and superstition can flourish.
“Misinformation, lack of education,” said Anchang, drives people to “revert to superstition as opposed to the science of what is going on.”
Despite the daunting challenges, speakers emphasized that local healthcare workers and community leaders are already mobilizing.
“You have doctors who have been organizing before the World Health Organization showed up,” Sweet said. “You have nurses who are going unpaid, who are leaving their jobs in regular hospitals to take more risky posts in Ebola treatment centers because they’re consummate professionals, and because they care about their country.”
Is Ebola a global threat?
As the outbreak continues to grow, Schaffner stressed that the threat remains largely localized.
“The risk to the United States population and to the developed world of importations of Bundibugyo virus is very low,” he said. “This is not a respiratory virus. It is not transmitted the way influenza and COVID viruses were.”
