Cameroon’s traditional healers say they are being overwhelmed by the number of people seeking herbal medicine for prevention or treatment of the coronavirus.  The rush for traditional healing comes as the central African nation confirms more than 2,500 cases of COVID-19 and 121 deaths.  But medical doctors caution the use of herbal medicine for the coronavirus.

Traditional healer Dewah, who only uses a first name, says his chain of herbal medicine clinics across Cameroon have been flooded with patients since the March outbreak of the coronavirus.

He spoke via a messaging application from the southwestern town of Kumba.

Dewah said in the last two months he has received at least 800 people from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Chad who say they are rushing for African herbal medicine because they have been told there is no modern cure for COVID-19.

The demand for herbal medicine is so high, said Dewah, that he could not treat some patients because he ran short of the potions made from plants he harvests from the forest.

Despite a lack of scientific evidence, he claims the potions can treat all the symptoms of COVID-19 and even save the infected from death.

Dianne Sop, a traditional healer in Yaounde, said in the last month she too has received about 200 patients seeking treatment for the coronavirus.

Sop said on Tuesday morning alone she received 10 patients but had to send four away because she is still waiting for more herbal medicines.

Medical researchers, doctors, and the Cameroon government have urged patients not to rely on traditional medicine for COVID-19 and to instead seek treatment at hospitals.

Douala city pharmacist Merilyne Peyou notes many Cameroonians do not live near hospitals but have easy access to traditional medicine. 

She said many drugs sold in hospitals and pharmacies in Africa originate from herbs and tree leaves that were effectively used to treat Africans before the arrival of modern medicine. The only challenges of African herbal medicine, said Peyou, are that it is difficult to preserve, may become toxic, and healers don’t always know what dosage to prescribe.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health released a statement Thursday warning of quacks claiming they can treat COVID-19 to financially exploit people suffering from or worried about the virus.

Gidiun Peliegho, a researcher on African traditional medicine, said authorities should work to identify which herbs can treat COVID-19 and help to develop a cure.

“We need both financial and moral assistance.  This is not the time for us to keep on doubting what African traditional medicine can do. What interests us now the most is getting to rescue the world population that is suffering.”

The World Health Organization notes the use of products to treat COVID-19 that have not been robustly investigated can put people in danger.

In a May 4 statement, the WHO said untested and unproven medicines give a false sense of security and distract from proven measures such as hand washing and physical distancing.

Source: VOA

Scientists have found evidence for mutations in some strains of the coronavirus that suggest the pathogen may be adapting to humans after spilling over from bats.

The analysis of more than 5,300 coronavirus genomes from 62 countries shows that while the virus is fairly stable, some have gained mutations, including two genetic changes that alter the critical “spike protein” the virus uses to infect human cells.

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine stress that it is unclear how the mutations affects the virus, but since the changes arose independently in different countries they may help the virus spread more easily.

The spike mutations are rare at the moment but Martin Hibberd, professor of emerging infectious diseases and a senior author on the study, said their emergence highlights the need for global surveillance of the virus so that more worrying changes are picked up fast.

“This is exactly what we need to look out for,” Hibberd said. “People are making vaccines and other therapies against this spike protein because it seems a very good target. We need to keep an eye on it and make sure that any mutations don’t invalidate any of these approaches.”

Studies of the virus revealed early on that the shape of its spike protein allowed it to bind to human cells more efficiently than Sars, a related virus that sparked an outbreak in 2002. The difference may have helped the latest coronavirus infect more people and spread rapidly around the world.

Scientists will be concerned if more extensive mutations in the spike protein arise, not only because they may alter how the virus behaves. The spike protein is the main target of leading vaccines around the world, and if it changes too much those vaccines may no longer work. Other potential therapies, such as synthetic antibodies that home in on the spike protein, could be less effective, too.

“This is an early warning,” Hibberd said. “Even if these mutations are not important for vaccines, other mutations might be and we need to maintain our surveillance so we are not caught out by deploying a vaccine that only works against some strains.”

The scientists analysed 5,349 coronavirus genomes that have been uploaded to two major genetics databases since the outbreak began. By studying the genetic makeup of the viruses, the scientists worked out how it has diversified into different strains and looked for signs that it was adapting to its human host.

In an unpublished study that has yet to be peer reviewed, the researchers identified two broad groups of coronavirus that have now spread globally. Of the two spike mutations, one was found in 788 viruses around the world, with the other present in only 32.

The study shows that, until January, one group of coronaviruses in China escaped detection because they had a mutation in the genetic region that early tests relied on. More recent tests detect all of the known types of the virus.

Last month, an international team of scientists used genetic analyses to show that the coronavirus likely originated in bats and was not made in a lab as some conspiracy theorists have claimed.

(Source: The Guardian)

The Francophone dominated government in Yaoundé confirmed on Sunday that the nation has now recorded 2579 positive cases of Coronavirus since the outbreak of the pandemic on March 6. According to the health authorities some 1467 people have recovered from the illness and 114 people have died from Covid-19.

Archbishop Samuel Kleda, Archbishop of the Douala metropolis, claimed that 600 patients who contracted the coronavirus have been cured by his herbal treatment.

“No patient has died with our treatment,” Archbishop Samuel Kleda said. The health authorities who only communicate using the French language are asking Cameroonians not to rejoice too soon.

“The virus is still circulating,” said the youthful French Cameroun Minister of Public Health Manaouda Malachie. Elsewhere, 139 Cameroonians stranded in the United Arab Emirates (out of 152 registered) due to border closures because of the Covid-19 pandemic have returned to Cameroon by special flight chartered by the Cameroonian government. They arrived in Yaoundé on Sunday, the Minister of External Relations announced on state radio and television.

By Rita Akana

Coinciding with Friday’s observance of the African Day for the Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality, Cameroon disclosed that tens of thousands of newborn babies continue to die at birth and thousands of women continue to lose their lives while giving birth each year in the central African of 25 million. Health officials say the situation is worse on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria, where most mothers do not go to hospitals.

 Martina Lukong Baye, Cameroonian Coordinator of the National Multisector Program to Combat Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality, says it is unfortunate that the number of mothers and babies dying in Cameroon has remained high due to many women neglecting prenatal care and some delivering at home using untrained traditional birth attendants.

 “We are counting about 4,000 women dying every year from causes linked to pregnancy or delivery. It is pathetic. It is about 22,000 newborn babies that we lose every year. It is really, really unacceptable.” Baye said.

 Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health, however, reports that the number of pregnant women who die has dropped from 8,000 in 2015 to 4,000 in last year, and babies who are dying each year has decreased from 30,000 in 2015 to 22,000 last year. 

 Baye says Cameroon could do more to reduce most of the deaths by paying more attention to reasons why the women and babies die.

 “The first direct cause of women dying in Cameroon is bleeding. We do not have enough blood available in our health facilities to give these women. The other cause too, now, that is quite prominent now is hypertension in pregnancy. The other cause now would be infection after delivery and, of course, home deliveries,” Baye said.

 According to a 2018 Cameroon government-sponsored demographic and health survey, 33% of Cameroonian deliveries are carried out at home or with African traditional birth attendants, without trained health staff members. 

 The situation is critical on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria, where Boko Haram has chased medical staff away and torched hospitals, and the border with the Central African Republic that has been an epicenter of CAR rebel atrocities. 

 Malachie Manaouda, Cameroon’s health minister, says the government has taken measures to improve health care delivery at hospitals as an urgent measure to reduce the deaths. 

He says the universal health coverage plan Cameroon is developing prioritizes mother and child care. He says President Paul Biya is personally supervising the plan as an indication of a strong political will to stop women from dying while giving birth, and babies from dying before, during or shortly after birth.

Manaouda said Cameroon has, within the past three years, equipped maternities and trained and recruited about a thousand midwives and pediatricians to attend to the needs of mothers and babies. He also said the government two years ago instructed all hospitals on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria and Cameroon’s border with CAR to offer free prenatal care.

 The African Day for the Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality, observed since 2009, offers an opportunity for African countries, members of the African Union, to intensify actions aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality, examine challenges faced, and press for greater political commitment among African countries to stop mothers and babies from dying.

Source: VOA

Cameroon is poised to do “robust and large scale” COVID-19 testing, Minister of Public Health Manaouda Malachie said on Friday.

“We will now test more people rapidly,” Manaouda told reporters in the capital Yaounde, “this will significantly accelerate our battle on the field, especially at the airports.”

Manaouda made the remarks after the country’s president Paul Biya recently donated to the government 5,000 rapid test kits.

According to Africa CDC, Cameroon has registered a total of 2,265 confirmed COVID-19 cases from 10,268 tests.

Source: Xinhuanet

With the help of a nurse, Dominique Djomo puts on his personal protective equipment – a cap, coveralls, protective glasses, visor and gloves – and starts another day dealing with an influx of COVID-19 cases.

The anesthesiologist’s work at Douala’s gynaecology, obstetrics and pediatric hospital has changed beyond recognition since the first case of the new coronavirus was detected in Cameroon in early March.

The Central African country now has one of the highest case rates in the region, with over 2,000 people infected and more than 60 dead.

While scenes of overwhelmed hospital wards have been broadcast from across Europe and the United States, most African countries have so far been spared much of the mayhem.

As cases rise, however, doctors are beginning to get a taste of the challenges that lie ahead.

Djomo used to spend his days between the operating theatre and emergency rooms and carrying out consultations. Now, the new coronavirus and the people it affects dictate his time.

“I have … no rest, no weekends, no peaceful nights, it is the patients who run my programme,” said the 39-year-old. “This is not the usual care. There are many more precautions to take.”

Douala paediatric hospital was picked by the government as one of a few centres to receive critically ill COVID-19 patients. It has since received over 200 patients, dozens of whom were hospitalized, Djomo said.

Djomo and his team frequently work 24-hour shifts. Last week, when a Reuters crew visited the hospital, the resuscitation ward was full, its 12 beds occupied by patients.

A lack of space and a shortage of critical supplies such as ventilators has forced Djomo to make some difficult calls.

During the Reuters visit, he had to turn down a request from another clinic that wanted to transfer a patient to the hospital because he only had five ventilators and they were all being used.

Djomo’s family and friends worry that he may get infected.

As in many parts of the world, protective equipment is running short for medical staff in the hospital, including overalls. More than 20 healthcare workers have been infected in Cameroon and at least two doctors have died, said a senior health official.

“I would personally like to make my contribution, that at the end of this epidemic I can be satisfied with myself,” said Djomo. “Family, friends ask me to be careful. But we remind them that it can happen to everyone. Anyone can be sick.”

Source: Whtc.com

The World Health Organization says the US has provided no evidence to support US President Donald Trump’s claim that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab.

“We have not received any data or specific evidence from the United States government relating to the purported origin of the virus — so from our perspective, this remains speculative,” the UN health agency’s emergencies director Michael Ryan said.

Trump claims to have proof the new coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak started in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Last month, the US president halted funding to the World Health Organisation after he accused the UN boy of initially downplaying the seriousness of the outbreak to “shield China.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo doubled down on the assertion that the outbreak originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan,” Pompeo told ABC News on Sunday.

China has vehemently denied suggestions the lab was the source.

The WHO emergencies director said, “Like any evidence-based organisation, we would be very willing to receive any information that purports to the origin of the virus.” Ryan stressed that this was “a very important piece of public health information for future control.

“If that data and evidence is available, then it will be for the United States government to decide whether and when it can be shared, but it is difficult for the WHO to operate in an information vacuum in that regard,” he added.

Scientists have condemned conspiracy theories about the Chinese laboratory, saying the new coronavirus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly from a market in Wuhan selling exotic animals for meat.

Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci echoed the WHO’s statement, saying that, “If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what’s out there now, (the scientific evidence) is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated.”

“Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that (this virus) evolved in nature and then jumped species,” he said.

Intelligence assessment contradicts Trump, Pompeo’s claim

Intel shared among US allies indicated it is “highly unlikely” that the coronavirus outbreak was spread as a result of an accident in a laboratory but rather originated in a Chinese market.

“It is highly likely it was naturally occurring and that the human infection was from natural human and animal interaction,” an official from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing coalition said.

The Five Eyes alliance is made up of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

A source from the Five Eyes nation said that “clearly the market is where the new coronavirus exploded from,” but how the virus got to the market remains unclear.

China’s state-owned Global Times newspaper slammed Pompeo’s Wuhan lab claim, saying that the former CIA director had “stunned the world with groundless accusations.”

“Since Pompeo said his claims are supported by ‘enormous evidence,’ then he should present this so-called evidence to the world, and especially to the American public who he continually tries to fool,” Global Times said.

As the war of words escalates between Washington and Beijing over the coronavirus pandemic, critics say the Trump administration has ramped up efforts to blame China for the global outbreak as it faces growing criticism at home for its own handling of the pandemic.

Nearly 70,000 people died of the coronavirus in the US, and 1,180,634 virus cases were recorded as of early Tuesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Source: Presstv

As the world continues looking for ways of stopping the spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 and containing the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we all make this process easier for scientists by respecting the prescribed sanitation and social distancing prescriptions aimed at limiting transmission via nasal and respiratory secretions of infected persons. As researchers better understand aspects of the virus, there is now evidence of the occurrence and shedding of active COVID-19 virus in the stools of infected persons.  The presence of live virus in stools indicates its presence in the human gastrointestinal tract, where there are trillions of other microorganisms (mainly bacteria of different species) comprising the human micro biome.  The bacteria that make up the human micro biome are much larger than the SARS-CoV-2 and could serve as hosts to the virus, thereby helping its replication.  Previous research work reported influenza virus’ (a relative of SARS-CoV-2) infection of the Streptococcus pneumonia (bacteria that causes respiratory tract infections) making respiratory tract infections worse.  It is therefore possible that the human micro biome could serve as a good host of SARS-CoV-2.  Eliminating the coronavirus from the gastrointestinal tract or stopping its replication will therefore provide an effective means of stopping the shedding of the active virus via feces, cutting out that potential route of transmission.

Presently there is no well-studied treatment, and an acceptable vaccine is not likely to be available in the short term.  We have to bear in mind that this is a new virus, one that the human immune system had not been exposed to prior to the last few months of 2019.  On the contrary, our micro biome has been with us from birth and is constantly changing based on the foods we are exposed to.  This therefore means that the dietary habits of a people determine the bacteria that they host, as well as the functioning of their immune system and ability to manage certain infections.  At this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe it is more important than ever before to pay more attention to what goes into our gastrointestinal tract, with the knowledge that our foods should be our most important medication.

Considering the variety and richness of the Cameroonian cuisine, it is likely that the micro biome of Cameroonians is just as rich and varied.  Ascertaining the protective role of this micro biome, thus constitutes a major focus of our research work at the J & A Oben Foundation.  Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the J & A Oben Foundation has worked in collaboration with other researchers (Jude Bigoga, Guy Takuissu, Ismael Teta and Rose Leke) to investigate the potential of a fortified ‘Yellow Soup’ called ‘STAR YELLOW” to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 via feces.  Star Yellow differs from the well-known Yellow Soup widely consumed and sold in restaurants by the addition of ground melon seed (egusi) and garlic, known for their high zinc content and antibacterial activity respectively. The high zinc content inhibits viral replication.  As well as garlic’s antibacterial, antioxidant and anticoagulant activity, it’s high inulin content provides fuel for the growth of ‘good bacteria’ in the micro biome.  As well as the presence of all the functional ingredients in Star Yellow, what makes it stand out is its chemistry, which though basic, could be important in the management of the spread of COVID-19.   The initial steps in the preparation of Star Yellow involve the mixing of palm oil (a lipid) and limestone or sodium bicarbonate (a base) in the presence of water.  This process in simple chemistry terms is referred to as ‘saponification’.  SARS-CoV-2 is spherical and consists of ribonucleic acid (RNA), lipids and proteins (spikes protruding from their surface giving the appearance of a crown).  There are no strong bonds holding these units together, which means that even mild chemicals like Star Yellow will split them apart.  Basically the Star Yellow will dissolve the fat membrane of the virus and the virus falls apart.  If this process occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 is exposed to zinc from the diet that stops its replication, making the virus inactive. 

If ongoing work by our research group turns out to be conclusive, Star Yellow could be useful in ridding the gastrointestinal tract of active viruses just as other products of saponification work on the skin.  This could limit the spread of COVID-19 through feces in areas with poor hygienic conditions. The above reminds me of a conversation I had with the Late Professor Victor Anoma Ngu during which he said, “good science doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated science, but a good researcher should be able to find simple solutions to complex problems”.  In the meantime, Cameroonians should protect themselves by washing their hands regularly, wearing protective masks, practicing social distancing and eating a balanced diet that will strengthen their immune system and provide a healthy micro biome.

*Professor Julius Oben is also Co-founder of the J&A Oben Foundation, Lead Researcher at its Nutrition and Dietetics Research Centre (CANDIREC), Supervisor of its Wellness and Nutrition Centre and Proprietor of its Professional School of Dietetics and Functional Foods (CEFOPDIET)

Cameroonians have been flooding into the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Douala, where Archbishop Samuel Kleda claims he has found an herbal cure for COVID-19.

The popularity of the archbishop’s alleged cure has prompted some authorities to try to make the treatment more widely available, even though medical experts have urged extreme caution about its use.

Paul Nyaga, curate of St. Paul’s Parish of the Douala Archdiocese, said through a messaging application that since information circulated a week ago that Kleda could treat COVID-19, many have been rushing to his parish for help.

He said the parish had been overwhelmed by the number of people coming from Yaounde, Bafoussam and Douala with test results showing that they were COVID-19-positive and saying they did not have access to treatment. He said he told them to go to Catholic hospitals in the archdiocese, where they would be treated when there were additional supplies of the archbishop’s herbal remedy.

Among the hundreds asking for help was hairdresser Clementine Eya, 27, who also spoke via a messaging application from Douala.

She said she had no money to pay for the hospital treatment of her elder sister, who tested COVID-19-positive in Douala and wanted to see the archbishop because she had been told his treatment was efficient and free.

Several dozen treated

Kleda told state media CRTV on April 25 that he had treated several dozen people, including eight medical staff members, for conditions affecting their respiratory systems, just like the coronavirus does.

Kleda, speaking via a messaging application from Douala, said he could confirm that his 30 years of medicinal plant research experience, especially on herbal treatment, had enabled him to find a cure for COVID-19.

He said he was very happy because everyone who had taken the herbal remedy had been cured of COVID-19.  He added that that his goal as a servant of God was to help poor and suffering people, and that was why he gave away the cure, which he named Essential Oils, free of charge.

Last week, the Cameroonian government sent a team of researchers and doctors to determine the validity of Kleda’s claimed cure. Public Health Minister Malachie Manaouda said the government’s support would be determined by the outcome of the investigation. He said if Kleda was proven to be right, the government would make it more widely available for COVID-19 patients.

The Cameroon Medical Council and the Cameroon Academy of Sciences have both called for research to determine the efficiency of Essential Oils.

Advice: Rely on hospitals

Dieudonne Kameni of the Cameroon Medical Council said that for now, COVID-19 patients should count only on treatment at authorized government hospitals.

He said by telephone from Douala that medical practice has rules, regulations and professional  ethics that must be observed before drugs can be used in patients, but that the archbishop’s collection of herbs was still at a preclinical testing stage and could not be scientifically called a cure for COVID-19. He said he was asking patients to go to hospitals, which for now were the only sure places COVID-19 could be treated.

Kleda said he would continue administering the treatment to patients who sought help from him while waiting for scientists to complete their findings. Many patients have, however, complained of the difficulty of obtaining Essential Oils because of high demand.

Cameroon has been hit harder by the coronavirus than any other country in Central Africa. As of Saturday afternoon EDT, the country had recorded 2,077 confirmed cases, with 64 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.

Source: VOA