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Volume 9, Number 10—October 2003
Research

Cultural Contexts of Ebola in Northern Uganda

Barry S. Hewlett*Comments to Author  and Richard P. Amola†
Author affiliations: *Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington, USA; †Ministry of Health, Adjumani, Uganda

Main Article

Table 1

Explanatory models for Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) among the Acholia

Terms Yat Gemo Disease of contact; Ebola
Description
 “Medicine” or substance that enters the body and causes illness
 Bad spirit that comes suddenly and rapidly and effects many people
 EHF, biomedical description
Signs and symptoms
 Starts with pain inflammation but can have many other signs in later stages
 Mental confusion, rapid death, high fever
 High fever, vomiting, headache
Causes
 Bad “medicine” (poison) goes into body
 Lack of respect for jok, sometimes no reason
 Filovirus, but host reservoir unknown
Transmission
 Step on it, eat it, catching it, somebody sends, just looking at a person
 Physical proximity, easy for gemo to catch you
 Physical contact with bodily fluids of patients
Pathophysiology
 Inflammation and pain in area touched by or location of yat
 Attacks all of body
 Damage to major organs
Treatment
 Tak—techniques of healers who use their jok to identify and remove yat from body or environment
 Talk to jok via traditional healer, give whatever wants, gifts of food to jok
 None, hydrate (ORS), control vomiting
Prevention and control
 Protective bracelets
 See protocol in text, chani labolo, ryemo gemo
 Do not touch patients, barrier nursing
Prognosis
 Good if removed from body; otherwise death
 Not good, no cure
 Not good, no cure
Risk groups
 Very smart, successful, salaried people; anybody
 Caregivers close to patients (women), families that do not respect jok, families that do not follow protocol
 Unprotected healthcare workers, caregivers of patients, people that wash or touch dead victims
Political Infected troops returning from DRC sent to Gulu Infected troops returning from DRC sent to Gulu Infected troops returning from DRC sent to Gulu

aORS, oral rehydration salts; DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Main Article

Page created: January 07, 2011
Page updated: January 07, 2011
Page reviewed: January 07, 2011
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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