Cameroon has restricted movement along its border with Equatorial Guinea after many inexplicable deaths from an unknown illness that causes hemorrhagic fever, according to Malachie Manaouda, Minister of Public Health.
The restrictions were established due to “the high risk of importation of this disease and in order to detect and respond to any cases at an early stage”, he added in a statement. Investigations are underway, and epidemiological surveillance has been reinforced with the assistance of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“At the current stage … there is no reason to be worried,” Malachie added.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Equatorial Guinea said it had detected a unique epidemiological scenario in its Nsok Nsomo district, Kie-Ntem province, that had resulted in nine deaths in two adjacent settlements in a short period of time.
On Thursday, the health ministry’s crisis commission announced a tenth fatality. Fever, weakness, vomiting blood, and diarrhoea were among the symptoms recorded.
A team was dispatched to isolate contact cases and collect samples for testing at a regional WHO lab. According to the statement, a woman and her two children were taken to the hospital and recovered after getting mild treatment.
According to a WHO representative, the organisation is assisting in the testing of samples to determine what caused the deaths and expects to receive results in the coming days.
Cameroon reported over 20 deaths on Wednesday in communities in Equatorial Guinea’s Kie-Ntem province, which borders Cameroon’s Olamze district.