Day: June 8, 2022

The risk of monkeypox becoming established in nonendemic nations is real, the WHO warned Wednesday, with more than 1,000 cases confirmed in such countries.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. health agency was not recommending mass vaccination against the virus and added that no deaths had been reported from the outbreaks.

“The risk of monkeypox becoming established in nonendemic countries is real,” Tedros told a press conference.

The zoonotic disease is endemic in humans in nine African countries, but outbreaks have been reported in the past month in several other states — mostly in Europe, and notably in Britain, Spain and Portugal.

“More than 1,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox have now been reported to WHO from 29 countries that are not endemic for the disease,” Tedros said.

“So far, no deaths have been reported in these countries. Cases have been reported mainly, but not only, among men who have sex with men.

“Some countries are now beginning to report cases of apparent community transmission, including some cases in women.”

Greece on Wednesday became the latest country to confirm its first case of the disease, with health authorities there saying it involved a man who had recently traveled to Portugal and who was hospitalized in stable condition.

The initial symptoms of monkeypox include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a blistery chickenpox-like rash.

Tedros said he was particularly concerned about the risk the virus poses to vulnerable groups, including pregnant women and children.

He said the sudden and unexpected appearance of monkeypox outside endemic countries suggested that there might have been undetected transmission for some time, but it was not known for how long.

One case of monkeypox in a nonendemic country is considered an outbreak.

Tedros said that while this was “clearly concerning,” the virus has been circulating and killing in Africa for decades, with more than 1,400 suspected cases and 66 deaths so far this year.

“The communities that live with the threat of this virus every day deserve the same concern, the same care and the same access to tools to protect themselves,” he said.

Vaccines

In the few places where vaccines are available, they are being used to protect those who may be exposed, such as health care workers.

Tedros said that post-exposure vaccination, ideally within four days, could be considered for higher-risk close contacts, such as sexual partners or household members.

He added that the WHO would issue guidance in the coming days on clinical care, infection prevention and control, vaccination and community protection.

He said people with symptoms should isolate at home and consult a health worker, while people in the same household should avoid close contact.

Few hospitalizations have been reported, apart from patients being isolated, the WHO said last weekend.

Sylvie Briand, the WHO’s epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director, said the smallpox vaccine could be used against monkeypox, a fellow orthopoxvirus, with a high degree of efficacy.

The WHO is trying to determine how many doses are currently available and to find out from manufacturers what their production and distribution capacities are.

Source: Voice of America

Cameroon’s military says it has arrested four of its troops for the killing of nine civilians, including four women and a baby. A military spokesman says the troops fired on villagers after not getting any help in their search for a missing colleague in the rebel-prone area.

Cameroon’s military says the troops were deployed in the northwest village of Missong on June 1 to search for their missing colleague.

A military statement Tuesday night said villagers were “deviant in their behavior” toward the troops, who then fired on the unarmed civilians.

The rare statement of military wrongdoing said the troops killed four women, four men, and an 18-month-old girl, while a 12-year-old was injured.

Relatives of the victims, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation, told VOA the troops got angry when the villagers refused to help them find their missing colleague.

They said the troops were demanding villagers show them rebel hideouts, which they were afraid to do for fear of rebel payback.

Tamfu Richard is a human rights lawyer and member of the Cameroon Bar Council.

He notes it is not the first time the military has arrested troops for atrocities and that victims are still waiting for justice.

“We don’t have the feeling that the government itself is ready and willing to punish its elements,” said Tamfu. “We have witnessed that with the Ngarr-buh case which up till now is still pending before the courts. The government should hold these offices accountable and make sure that they face the law and that severe sanctions should be meted out on them. It is not permitted during war periods that human rights be violated or that you should kill innocent civilians.”

Cameroon’s military stormed Ngarr-buh, a northwestern village, in February 2020, killing 21 civilians.

Authorities initially denied their troops committed the massacre, calling the accusation separatist propaganda. But after international pressure, Cameroon authorities admitted troops were responsible.

Joseph Vincent Ntouda Ebode is a conflict resolution specialist at the University of Yaoundé.

He says it is surprising that Cameroon’s military, which prides itself on high quality training and respect for human rights, opened fire on unarmed civilians. Edobe says the abuse has scared many civilians from helping government troops by sharing information on separatist activities. He says if the military does not bring arrested troops to justice immediately, civilians may even begin sympathizing with separatists, who claim they are protecting English-speaking Cameroonians from military brutality.

Rights groups have accused both Cameroon’s military and anglophone separatists of killing civilians and torching their homes during the five-year conflict.

Both sides reject the accusations as intended to tarnish their image.

Unrest in Cameroon’s English-speaking western regions began in 2016 after teachers and lawyers protested the dominance of French-speakers in the officially bilingual country.

The military responded with a crackdown and rebels took up arms, saying they had to defend the minority English-speakers.

The U.N. says clashes between the two sides have left at least 3,300 people dead and more than 750,000 internally displaced.

Source: Voice of America