Libongo: A ministerial letter has been issued urging the public to avoid handling both living and deceased primates. This comes after a monkey, which had been kept in human captivity, died from monkeypox in Libongo, located in the Salapoumbe subdivision of Boumba et Ngoko in the East Region.

According to Cameroon News Agency, the announcement was made on November 28 by Joseph Nyongwen, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife. Nyongwen reported that the monkey was moved from its captors, who had kept it for over a month, to a conservation site in Mefou, Méfou et Afamba. There, a mixed ministerial team conducted a diagnosis.

Despite receiving treatment, the monkey could not be saved and died in isolation on November 26, 2024. Government officials confirmed that the animal was carrying the monkeypox virus.

The statement also informed that both the monkey’s body and the tools used in its care have been incinerated. Additionally, individuals who came into contact with the monkey are curre
ntly under observation.