Tolbert Nyenswah says Camaroon among 16 countries with hantavirus PCR capacity
Africa CDC said Camaroon is among the 16 African countries with Polymerase Chain Reaction testing capacity for hantavirus detection, even as 28 countries lack the reagents and kits needed for rapid confirmation. Tolbert Nyenswah told a joint Africa CDC and WHO-AFRO webinar on Thursday that "The risk to Africa is low, but not zero," while the agency urged faster reporting and stronger port health controls.
Africa CDC Webinar
The disclosure came during a technical webinar that reviewed the international outbreak linked to the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius. Africa CDC said only about 12 countries currently have functional confirmation protocols, leaving 28 countries, or 70 percent of the continent, without the specific reagents and testing kits required for rapid hantavirus confirmation.
That gap leaves most countries unable to move from suspicion to laboratory confirmation quickly. Africa CDC said Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Cameroon and Mali are among the countries with PCR testing capacity, but having PCR equipment does not automatically mean every country has the full confirmation workflow in place.
MV Hondius Cases
The webinar also tracked the outbreak itself. As of May 13, the World Health Organization had recorded 11 cases, including eight confirmed, one inconclusive and two probable, with three deaths attributed to the Andes strain of hantavirus.
The MV Hondius arrived at the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, on May 10, and disembarkation was completed on May 11. Repatriation of all passengers and crew to their home countries was subsequently completed, and laboratory confirmation for linked cases has been conducted at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa.
Africa CDC Actions
Africa CDC said the continent’s risk remains low and that it has engaged Cabo Verde and South Africa because of links to the outbreak. The agency also urged member states to strengthen port health services, reinforce infection prevention and control measures and ensure timely reporting of suspected cases.
Further sequencing and serology analyses are ongoing, so the immediate issue for African health systems is speed: which countries can test, which can only screen, and where suspected cases will need to move for final laboratory work.
