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CONGO: Some 3,000 Babenga threatened
by bush yaws
 At
least 3,000 inhabitants of the Department of Likouala, in northern Republic of
Congo, are seriously threatened by bush yaws, a contagious tropical disease, the
UNICEF programmes administrator in the country, Liliane Tumbe, said [in early
April].
"We have been able to treat 135 pygmies, 41 of them children, during our
recent visit to the area," she said in Brazzaville, the nation's capital.
However, she said many of the area's inhabitants, known as the Babenga, could
not be treated because they had left their encampments to go fish.
Bush yaws is an infectious tropical disease resembling syphilis in its early
stages; marked by red skin eruptions and ulcerating lesions in places such as
the nose, mouth and ears. There are several varieties of this disease, variously
known as framboesia, pian, verrugas, and crab-yaws. The disease is commonplace
among the 6,000 Babenga, sometimes know as pygmies, in in Likouala. The
infection arises from poor hygiene.
"Fortunately, it is not difficult to treat this disease. A simple
injection of the antibiotic extenciline will kill the germ," Tumba said. -
[IRIN]
More information:
[This Item may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003]
www.irinnews.org
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