Cameroon: Fears of a monkeypox outbreak in Southwest and Northwest

Event

According to the Ministry of Health, as of mid-May, several confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported in recent weeks in the Southwest and Northwest regions. The most affected areas include Njikwa and Akwaya. Authorities have deployed medical experts to the regions and have implemented public health measures to hinder further spread of the disease.

Context

Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by a virus. Infection results from direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or rashes of infected animals (e.g. monkeys, Gambian rats, or squirrels). Secondary transmission is human-to-human, resulting from close contact with infected respiratory tract excretions, with the skin lesions of an infected person, or with recently contaminated objects. The infection can be divided into two periods: the invasion period symptoms of which include fever, intense headache, lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph node), back pain, myalgia (muscle aches), and an intense asthenia (lack of energy). In the second phase symptoms include a rash on the face (in 95 percent of cases) as well as on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet (75 percent of cases) and elsewhere on the body. There is no vaccine or treatment against the disease, although the smallpox vaccination has proven to be 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox.

Advice

Individuals present in the affected areas should avoid contact with both domestic and wild animals and follow any instructions provided by health authorities.