Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from leukemia in all parts of the world, and many ultimately lose their fight against the disease. While there is currently no cure for leukemia, it is possible to treat the cancer to prevent it from coming back.

A biochemistry researcher at the University of Yaounde Medical School in Cameroon’s capital said she developed a plant-based solution to fight leukemia.

“My solution is to make xenografts by administering an aqueous extract of plant bark powder to mice capable of developing tumors,” Francine Tankeu told Anadolu Agency (AA). “We make them leukemic beforehand and then we follow their evolution.”

The next step is to arrange the remedy in a final physical aspect of the drug as it will be used in a patient and according to its compatibility.

“This other step includes several aspects such as toxicological studies to ensure its safety before moving to the human stage (of trials),” said Tankeu.

She noted results on animals show a significant regression of tumor volume after 30 days.

“The survival rate is good, but the test has not yet been performed on a human patient. The steps to be taken before clinical testing, like human trials, are not complete and I don’t have enough funds,” she said.

The idea to use plants came from her daily life, where she noticed a majority of the population uses traditional plant-based medicine for diseases.

“The beneficial effects of Syzygium Guineense, the plant I use, are not negligible because its activity is anti-leukemic. Beyond being used as a spice for local dishes, it is also used for the treatment of certain cancers,” she said.

‘Improved traditional medicine’

She figured if she could establish a scientific basis for the traditional use and formulate an improved traditional medicine, it would be “very useful.”

The methodology is “in tune with African socio-cultural realities” she said.

Tankeu wants to formulate “an improved traditional medicine” and to study the effects of the leafy forest plant when it is administered in conjunction with anti-cancer drugs to see if there would be a synergistic effect or a reduction in side effects from chemotherapy.

She received the Young Talent Award In 2020 from the For Women in Science in Sub-Saharan Africa program at the L’Oreal Foundation and UNESCO.

This prize allowed her to realize her work is “an effective contribution to the problem of cancer,” she said.

But the fight remains “vast, long and far from being won in view of the growing number of patients in the world as well as the obstacles to scientific research,” said Tankeu.

It is “very complicated in my country” for several reasons she told the Turkish news agency.

Notably, the lack of financial avenues, absence of technical platforms and prejudice against female scientists.

She noted that teachers prefer to work with male researchers because of perceptions that family responsibilities of women present obstacles.

In addition, “many children die before they are even put on treatment because the standard of living of the inhabitants is lower than the cost of examinations for an accurate diagnosis,” she said.

The number of cancer cases is increasing annually in Cameroon and diagnosis times are long – more than 60% of patients arrive at an advanced stage and treatment is expensive – according to the Health Ministry.

Tankeu also lamented about erroneous beliefs and perceptions

“It is a real barrier,” she said.

Despite the situation, the young biochemist said she views the future of her solution with “a lot of optimism, especially given the previous results.”

Source: Daily Sabah

The rising number of cases of Covid-19 in Europe is of “grave concern” and the region could see another half a million deaths by early next year, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday.

With 78 million cases in the WHO’s European region—which spans 53 countries and territories and includes several nations in Central Asia—the cumulative toll now exceeded that of South East Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Western Pacific, and Africa combined, the organisation said.

“We are, once again, at the epicentre,” WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told a press conference.

Kluge noted that the “current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European Region is of grave concern”.

According to “one reliable projection” the current trajectory would mean “another half a million Covid-19 deaths” by February, Kluge added.

The increases were observed “across all age groups”,  he said.

Kluge blamed the soaring caseload on “insufficient vaccination coverage” and “the relaxation of public health and social measures”.

Hospital admission rates were higher in countries with lower vaccination rates, he said.

Measures like testing, tracing, physical distancing and the use of face masks were still part of the “arsenal” in fighting the virus.

“We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of Covid-19, to preventing them from happening in the first place,” Kluge said.

The number of new cases per day has been rising for nearly six consecutive weeks in Europe and the number of new deaths per day has been rising for just over seven consecutive weeks, with about 250,000 cases and 3,600 deaths per day, according to official country data compiled by AFP.

Over the past seven days, Russia has led the rise with 8,162 deaths, followed by Ukraine with 3,819 deaths and Romania with 3,100 deaths, according to the data.

Source: AFP

Cameroon will inoculate all personnel on state payroll against COVID-19 next month as part of its nationwide vaccination program, a government minister has said.

The civil servants will be vaccinated from Nov. 6 to 30, Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform Joseph Le said Thursday.

“The preservation of the health of personnel at the service of the state is both a major concern and a duty of public authorities,” he said. “We must ensure that the work environment is not a place where the virus spreads, but a framework for professional development and health promotion for all.”

Le said vaccination will not be compulsory but urged all civil servants to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones.

On Wednesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Cameroon, quoting government statistics, said the central African nation reported 4,024 positive cases from Sept. 21 to 28, the highest weekly count since March, and raised an alert on the presence of the Delta variant.

Cameroon wants to vaccinate 60 percent of the target population by January 2023, but as of Sept. 22, only 0.9 percent had been vaccinated, according to figures from the Expanded Program on Immunization.

Source: Xinhuanet

The Cameroon Forum for Medical and Paramedical Sciences, Camfomedics founded on May 7, 1994 in Tübingen by Cameroonian students of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry in the Federal Republic of Germany have a new leader-she is Dr. Bernice Ndofor.

The iron lady who regularly invokes her story when explaining her commitment to better health for all, received the iMed Award 2019 for her professional handling of Camformedics Academy in Cameroon that was tasked to support health care facilities in rural and urban areas.

Dr. Bernice Ndofor has also received praise for her commitment to improving maternal and child health care, both during the tenures of Dr Ivo Azeh and Dr. Fonye Ki Nyui.  

As many observers noted after she was elected on Saturday October 2, 2021, Dr Bernice Ndofor was able to secure the leadership position at Camformedics mainly thanks to the support of the all its members. On social media, people from all over Germany expressed their joy that a woman had become head of Camformedics for the first time.

Biography: Bernice N. NDOFOR – M. D, Specialist in Internist /Emergentologist

A graduate from Charité- Berlin, the renowned physician did her specialization in Carl-Thiem-Klinikum Cottbus, where she worked for eight years. She made a name for herself as the first black woman to head the Central Emergency (A.E) in Cottbus.

In 2016, she moved to Nordrhein-Westfalen and established her own private practice. Dr. Bernice Ndofor is an Ex Student of Queen of the Rosary High school Okoyong- Mamfe and CCAST- Bambili.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in Essen, Germany