Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of carrying out a “genocide” in the eastern region of Donbas, where the city of Severodonetsk is suffering an onslaught of Russian shelling.
In his daily televised address, Zelensky condemned Moscow’s brutal assault on the Donbas – where it has redirected its forces after having failed to capture Kyiv – adding that its bombardment could leave the entire region “uninhabited”.
In the address, Zelensky added: “All this, including the deportation of our people and the mass killings of civilians, is an obvious policy of genocide pursued by Russia.”
Since 2014, pro-Moscow separatist groups have controlled parts of Donbas, but Russia now appears set on taking the whole region.
Invading forces are closing in on several cities, including the strategically located Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which stand on the crucial route to Ukraine’s eastern administrative centre in Kramatorsk.
According to Kyiv’s Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar, the fighting in the east has reached “its maximum intensity” since Russia invaded on 24 February.
The region’s governor has reported that the Russian army “has thrown all its forces at taking the Lugansk region.”
Sergiy Gaiday said in a video on Telegram: “Extremely fierce fighting is taking place on the outskirts of Severodonetsk. They are simply destroying the city, they are shelling it every day, shelling without pause.”
The Kremlin is seeking to tighten its grip over the parts of Ukraine it occupies, including fast-tracking citizenship for residents of the two southern regions that are mostly under Russian control.
Occupying forces have reportedly cancelled school holidays to prepare students to switch to a Russian curriculum.
Over the summer, children in occupied zones will have to study the Russian language, literature and history as well as math classes in Russian.
The United States has branded the plan an “attempt to subjugate the people of Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, the intensified fighting across the country prompted Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to voice Kyiv’s increasing frustration with the West, accusing allies of dragging their feet on arms deliveries and telling his German counterpart that Ukraine needs heavy weapons “as soon as possible.”
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin became the latest Western official to visit Kyiv on Thursday, where she said it would take Russia decades to repair its standing in the world after invading Ukraine.
Marin told a press conference that “trust is lost for generations.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has faced criticism over Berlin’s slow response, also weighed in Thursday, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin will not negotiate seriously until he realises he might not win in Ukraine.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sholz said: “Our goal is crystal-clear – Putin must not win this war. And I am convinced that he will not win it.”
The flow of grain exports from Ukraine – known as Europe’s breadbasket – has been disrupted since Russia’s invasion, threatening food security around the world and sending prices soaring.
On Thursday, the Kremlin pointed the finger at Western countries for stopping grain-carrying vessels from leaving ports in Ukraine rejecting accusations that Russia was to blame.
In a phone call with Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready to make a “significant contribution” to averting a looming food crisis if the West lifts sanctions imposed on his country over Ukraine.
The United States has scoffed at the offer. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby retorted: “Now they’re using economic tools as weapons. They’re weaponizing food. They’re weaponizing economic assistance.”
“I guess we shouldn’t be surprised by that, since they’ve weaponized everything else, including lies and information,” he said.
It was a warm day in October 2003 in San Diego, California, USA. I was attending the Infectious Disease Society of America’s annual conference. I passionately stood up at a meeting to express my thoughts about media reports connecting Ghana, my country of birth, to a monkeypox outbreak in the US. Fifty three people had contracted monkeypox in a multistate outbreak.
It turned out that after testing and investigation by the CDC, the infection was related to prairie dogs purchased as pets at a pet store in Illinois. The prairie dogs had been kept close to rodents imported from Ghana, a country where the human monkeypox disease has never been reported to date. These rodents were later found to test positive for the monkeypox virus.
The prairie dogs became infected as a result of proximity to the infected rodents and then transmitted the infection to their owners. This resulted in a ban on importation of African rodents into the US to date to prevent further outbreaks. That was the last time the US had an outbreak of monkeypox disease. No one died in the outbreak. One child developed a brain infection or encephalitis.
Monkeypox, a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, occurs very infrequently and in very scattered locations in parts of Africa. There are two clades (or types) of the virus: a West Africa (WA) clade in which 1 to 3.6 out of 100 infected patients die (1% to 3.6% mortality) and the Congo Basin (CB) variant, in which about 10 out of 100 infected patients can die (10% mortality). So far, the virus isolated in this current outbreak is of the West African variant, implying that the risk of dying from this disease is very low.
Background
The outcome of the 2003 outbreak reflects concepts in the natural history of the disease. It is a zoonosis in which humans get infected from infected animals. Monkeypox disease is usually a mild self-limited illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It usually does not require treatment. It can be severe in children, pregnant women, and those with impaired immune systems.
The virus belongs to the orthopox family of viruses. It is a disease that affects animals. It was first discovered in a laboratory monkeys in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1958. The monkeys had been imported from Singapore to study the polio vaccine, giving rise to the name, “monkeypox”. Since then there have been a few more outbreaks in laboratories around the world including the US. However, mentally, people tend to associate it with Africa because in 1970, the first human case was reported in an African child.
Since its discovery in 1970, there have been infrequent occurrences in a few locations around the world. From January 1, 2022, to May 1, 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo reported one thousand, two hundred and thirty-eight cases with fifty-seven deaths, while Nigeria reported forty-six cases and no deaths. In July and November of 2021, two travelers returning to the US from Nigeria were diagnosed with monkeypox and recovered. Between 2018 and May 2022, there have been nine cases related to travel in non-endemic countries: Two in the US, five in the UK, one in Israel and one in Singapore. None of the travel companions were infected, and only one healthcare worker in the UK became infected.
On May 18, 2022, a man in Massachusetts with no history of travel was diagnosed with a confirmed case of the disease, and eight suspected cases are under investigation. This is occurring at a time when two hundred and fifty cases have been reported since May 13, 2022, in eighteen countries, in persons who have not traveled to the countries where cases have occurred in the past- suggesting a worldwide outbreak. These countries include USA, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Portugal and Spain have the largest numbers. The cases have been found mainly, but not exclusively, in men who have had sex with men, and are seeking care in sexual and outpatient clinincs for for a rash appearing around the genital areas.
Signs and symptoms
Monkeypox disease starts with a headache, fever, cough, sore throat, and lymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph nodes) accompanied by muscle aches and a profound sense of exhaustion. This lasts about three days and occurs about five to twenty-one days after exposure to an index case. This period of carrying the disease without showing symptoms is known as the incubation period. These initial symptoms are followed by a rash. The rash is made up of flat lesions (macules), which progress to palpable flat-topped rashes (papules), and then to fluid-filled lesions (vesicles). These rashes start around the mouth, progressing to the head, chest and abdomen, and then to the arms and legs, including the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
Symptoms can mimic chickenpox, smallpox, and syphilis. However, smallpox disease does not present with enlarged lymph nodes. Chickenpox disease has rashes at various stages of development while in monkeypox the stages of the rash is the same on all parts of the body. Chickenpox rash starts on the hands and moves to the center of the body while the rash of monkeypox starts in the center parts of the body and marches to the arms and legs. The monkeypox rash is deep in the skin and therefore firmer to touch. The individual rashes may have a dimple or appear umbilicated. The fluid in these rashes are infectious. Over a period of two to four weeks, the rashes will scab over and subsequently become noninfectious.
The infected person can transmit the infection in three main ways: direct contact, respiratory droplets and inanimate objects. This period of being infectious starts a day before the person is feverish, and if he or she has a rash, during the whole period of the active rash. First, very close contact may cause the virus in bodily fluids to get onto another person. Second, large respiratory droplets from the sick person can be inhaled leading to infection. Finally, fomites (particles of clothing or other inanimate objects) from the body of the patient can cause the disease to be transmitted too. A pregnant woman can also transmit to her unborn child leading a congenital infection and still birth.
Infection by droplets can occur if an individual is within three to six feet of sick persons. Unlike chickenpox, monkeypox is not airborne and cannot travel for long distances. In this current outbreak, the rash is in the genital area and seems to be occurring in men who have sex with men suggesting that close contact with the skin around the genital area of an infected person is key to the transmission.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is established by finding the virus using with real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or DNA sequencing performed on body fluids from infected persons. There are three categories of sick persons for consideration in view of disease control and mitigation methods.
A suspected case is any person of any age presenting with an unexplained acute rash in a non-endemic country, who has a fever, lymph nose swelling and other characteristic symptoms, and whose rash cannot be explained by causes such as chickenpox, chikungunya virus, zika virus, dengue fever, drug reaction or the more common causes of an acute rash.
A probable case is a suspected case who also has the following: an exposure to a confirmed case, travel history to an endemic country, multiple anonymous sexual partners in the last twenty-one days, hospitalized or tested positive for the orthopox family of virus with an antibody test or other testing method.
A confirmed case is a probable or suspected case whose bodily fluids have been tested to be positive for the monkeypox virus by real time PCR testing or sequencing. This person should isolate for twenty-one days, and his or her contacts should be monitored closely.
Prevention and control action points
All doctors and healthcare workers worldwide should be on the lookout for all cases and report to local authorities to allow prompt diagnoses and prevent spread. All probable and confirmed cases should be reported to the WHO.
Hospitals and healthcare workers should use standard contact and droplet precautions when they care for these patients. Masks must be worn when in proximity with an infected person because of the respiratory method of transmission. Healthcare workers must promptly identify infections so that confirmed or suspected patients can isolate themselves and prevent transmission and curtail the outbreak.
Specimen from infected, suspected, and probable cases should be handled with care when being transported to designated equipped laboratories to prevent transmission to the laboratory staff.
Treatment and vaccination
In September 2019, a new vaccine, JYNNEOS, was licensed by the FDA for prevention of smallpox and monkeypox in people older than eighteen years of age. It was made from the Modified Vaccinia Ankara- Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN), a live non replicating virus. Its other names are IMVAMUNE, MVA, or IMVANEX. ACAM 2000 is a live vaccinia virus vaccine that was approved in 2007. It tends to cause self inoculation and has been associated with heart muscle inflammation in 5.7 out 1000 recipients. It has 85% efficacy against the monkeypox and has received emergency access investigational drug use for other orthopox viruses such as monkeypox in an outbreak. Both vaccines can be deployed in individuals whose risk of disease acquisition is high and in healthcare workers who have been exposed or may be exposed to the disease.
Tecovirimat is an antiviral agent that occurs in oral formulation and intravenous forms approved by the FDA in July, 2018 and in May 2022 respectively for the treatment smallpox. Tecovirimat can be used to treat severe monkeypox and is available by calling the US CDC. It goes by the name TPOXX or ST-246. Vaccinia Immune Globulin intravenous (VIGIV) originally licensed for use in complications related to smallpox vaccination is also available for post exposure treatment.
The CDC will take requests for vaccines, Tecovirimat and VIGIV only from State or Territorial health authorities. Medical countermeasures for monkeypox can be obtained by calling the CDC Emergency Operations Center at 770-448-7100. The CDC can also be reached for information by calling 1-800-CDC-INFO in the US (1800 232 4636)
The general risk of acquiring this infection is currently extremely low. It is nowhere as highly transmissible as COVID-19. The risk of dying from this disease if very low. It has no potential to cause a pandemic.
Stay calm and arm yourself with knowledge.
Ref: www.WHO.Int www.cdc.gov
Dr. Bertha Serwa Ayi is an infectious disease consultant who has been in practice for over 17 years as a specialist. Www.berthaayi.com
The collection of royalties for the players in the Creative Arts industry, particularly musicians, has over the years been a challenging effort for the collection institution.
The Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO), established with responsibility to collect and distribute royalties on behalf of authors/composers and other right owners, is saddled with lots of difficulties in executing their duties.
The Creative Arts players, once again musicians, have bitterly complained about they not receiving their royalties and seemingly have stopped pursuing it since there appears to be little to no hope in getting the royalties.
In an exclusive interview with astute broadcaster and host of Okay FM’s drive show “Ekwanso Dwoodwoo, Gilbert Aggrey, popularly known as “Abeiku Santana”, the French Ambassador indicated, as part of her immense contributions to the growth of Ghana’s Creative Arts industry, she is negotiating to have an effective French system of collecting and distributing royalties adopted in Ghana.
According to her, there is a publisher in her country, France, which “collects on the one hand all the royalties from any institution, shops, radio, digital platform that provides and displays music and on the otherhand, all the artistes register their songs and the list of people who have contributed to creating that song, beat makers, lyrics and everything and then they make sure that people get the royalties for the music when it’s displayed and proportionally as it is displayed”, so she is going to ensure that GHAMRO and this French publisher work in tandem to “in the first place, try and get royalties from digital platforms…So, [it will go through] it’s quite a long-term project. It’s not done overnight”.
“So, really, we are very much willing to help so that there is some system put in place so that they can get royalties from what they are doing here in Ghana”, she added.
The French Ambassador has won the hearts of Ghanaians due to her active participation and interest in Ghanaian activities and helping to make the nation, particularly the entertainment industry, better.
She has organized various activities and concerts in Ghana and France where she has showcased and keeping showcasing Ghanaian talents in order to foster international relations between talents from France and Ghana.
Nineteen young children and two adults have died in a shooting at a primary school in south Texas.
The gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School – which teaches children aged seven to 10 – in the city of Uvalde before he was killed by law enforcement, officials said.
The 18-year-old suspect had a handgun, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines, investigators say.
The teenager is suspected of shooting his grandmother before the rampage.
Local media report he may have been a high school student in the area.
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief of Police Pete Arredondo said the shooting began at 11:32 local time on Tuesday, and that investigators believe the attacker “did act alone during this heinous crime”.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the shooter, whom he named as Salvador Ramos, abandoned a vehicle before entering the school to “horrifically, incomprehensibly” open fire.
Two children killed in the shooting have been identified by US media. Family members confirmed the deaths of 10-year-olds Xavier Lopez and Amerie Jo Garza in statements on Tuesday night.
The government has approved the £4.25bn Todd Boehly-led consortium takeover of Chelsea.
After months of negotiations, the deal has finally been approved after the government received legal guarantees that Roman Abramovich – who has had his UK assets frozen – will not benefit from the sale.
Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich put Chelsea, which he purchased in 2003, up for sale on March 2, a week after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
“Late last night the UK Government reached a position where we could issue a licence that permits the sale of Chelsea Football Club,” read a government statement.
“Following the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich, the government has worked hard to ensure Chelsea Football Club has been able to continue to play football. But we have always been clear that the long-term future of the club could only be secured under a new owner.
“Following extensive work, we are now satisfied that the full proceeds of the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or any other sanctioned individual,” continued the statement.
“We will now begin the process of ensuring the proceeds of the sale are used for humanitarian causes in Ukraine, supporting victims of the war.
UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford has arrived in Accra following the success of the first UK-Ghana Business Council (UKGBC) held in-person since 2019. The Council was held in the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the heart of London with the senior Government of Ghana delegation led by Honourable Minister for Trade, Alan Kyerematen.
Arriving in Ghana for the second time in 2022, Minister Ford’s visit signals the importance the UK places on the deep and broad bilateral partnership. With almost a billion dollars’ worth of trade between Ghana and the UK, the British Government is committed to growing this by the end of 2024.
Following her arrival at Kotoka International Airport, Minister Vicky Ford said:
“It is fantastic to be back in Ghana, to continue the conversations, decisions and opportunities discussed both at UK-Ghana Business Council and during my visit in February. It’s also been fantastic to meet colleagues from the African Development Bank in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
I am proud to use my visit to announce a successful deal between our nations that will see 70 armoured Husky vehicles deployed to Northern Ghana to ensure the safety of vulnerable communities.”
During her visit, the UK Minister for Africa will attend the African Development Bank’s meeting of Governors where Minister Ford is expected to sign a climate finance deal worth up to $2 billion. Announced at COP26, at least half of the ‘Room to Run’ guarantee will unlock support for countries across the Continent to manage the impacts of climate change. The signing honours the global commitments made at COP26 by leaders from around the world including His Excellency President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Welcoming Minister Ford to Accra for the second time in 2022, British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson said:
“Ghana is a beacon of security, stability and democracy in a troubled region. Its role in ECOWAS and membership of the UN Security Council means that Ghana has a vital role in safeguarding democratic principles and defending freedoms across West Africa and beyond. We strongly support Ghana’s leadership in this.
Our partnership in recent times includes the fight against the impact of climate change and, of course, global health security. Minister Ford’s return to Ghana will reinforce this partnership through the signing of a climate finance deal, to ensure the safety of vulnerable communities.”
Minister Ford will pay tribute to the enduring UK-Ghana security and defence partnership, announcing the completion of a deal between our nations that will see 70 armoured Husky vehicles arrive in Ghana. These vehicles will be used to bolster security along the country’s Northern border, protecting communities from the threat of extremists inciting violence across the border.
Linked to the deal, worth more than $10 million, the UK armed forces will provide training for Ghanaian troops, including training of Ghanaian instructors to teach the operation and daily maintenance of the vehicles.
Minister Ford last visited Ghana in February 2022 as Russia unlawfully invaded Ukraine. During this visit the Minister met with Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Botchwey and held meetings with like-minded partners in Accra including Ambassadors from the American Embassy, the French Embassy, and Kenya High Commissioner to Ghana, Eliphas Barine and former United Nations General Assembly Chef de Cabinet, Kwabena Osei-Danquah.
During her previous trip, the Minister also visited the West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), based at the University of Ghana. Now, with vital UK-backing, the centre is supporting the country and the region on COVID-19 genome sequencing. Minister Ford also met with the scientists working on antimalarial drug resistance and new malaria vaccines in partnership with UK research institutions including Edinburgh University, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Francis Crick Institute.
Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana
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