 The name "Ebola" is a French corruption of "Legbala", its name in Ngbandi which means 'white water'.During the Belgian administration these names were interchangeable along with the French names "Eau Blanche" and rarely "L'Ébola".In 1976, Ebola virus (EBOV) was first identified in Yambuku, from the Ebola River, but Peter Piot decided to name it after the river so that the town would not be associated with the disease's stigma.