Cardiologists have warned about a growing silent epidemic of heart disease in Nigeria, noting that many people with very high blood pressure are unaware of their precarious health condition. The heart care medical experts said it has become imperative for all Nigerians to embrace the culture of going to pharmacies and hospitals to check their blood pressure and get treatment if it is high to ensure it is within the normal range. 

The cardiologists warned that patients with very high blood pressure are like a ticking time bomb that can explode anytime. Uncontrolled blood pressure, they said, could cause health problems like stroke and cardiac complications anytime without giving a sign. 

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund has signed an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV to supply up to 220 million doses of the J&J single-dose vaccine for all 55 Member States of the African Union by the end of 2022. 

Some 35 million doses are to be delivered by the end of this year. The agreement between UNICEF and Janssen Pharmaceutica NV will help implement the Advance Purchase Commitment (APC) signed between the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust and Janssen in March of this year.

Healthcare experts say body massage should be seen as a fundamental part of healthcare delivery, noting that it offers a lot of benefits in the management of chronic health conditions. According to the experts, if body massage is professionally handled, it can help to induce muscle relaxation and the flow of blood as well as reduce pain from parts of the body.

The experts, President, Association of Clinical and Academic Physiotherapists of Nigeria, Dr. Chris Okafor, and an alternative medicine practitioner, Mr. Augustine Oresanya explained that some health benefits of massage have been validated by research, adding that other benefits are based on clinical experience.

The Federal Government is set to approve eight more hospitals to the previous lineup of 12 hospitals in its Cancer Access Partnership Programme. Speaking on Wednesday during the official launch of the 2021 Upgrade Oncology, a representative of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Uche Nwokwu, said the programme is aimed at subsidising cancer treatment for patients

Cancer Access Partnership Programme is an initiative designed to train oncologists, pharmacists, and nurses in Nigeria to address the shortage of personnel in cancer treatment in the health sector.

A professor of pharmacology and fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Isa Hussaini, has said that women can have a recurring breast lump that is not cancerous. According to Hussaini, while women who have a reoccurring case of breast lumps should always have it checked by physicians, they should not panic unduly because lumps do not necessarily indicate breast cancer.

Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, Hussaini who specialised in cancer research also noted that having repeated breast lumps does not necessarily increase breast cancer risk. According to the American Cancer Society, a lump or mass in the breast is the most common symptom of breast cancer.

Alcohol consumption was linked to four per cent of all new global cancer cases last year, according to a study published on- Wednesday, as researchers warned of an urgent need to alert people of the risks. 

Men accounted for more than three-quarters of the estimated cases, which were mainly linked to risky or heavy drinking, although one in seven of these alcohol-related cancers were linked to moderate consumption of around two drinks a day.  The study, published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, estimated that there were more than 6.3 million cases in 2020 of mouth, pharynx, voice box larynx, oesophageal, colon, rectum, liver, and breast cancer — all of which have established links to alcohol. 

Thousands of cases of cholera have been reported in Nigeria between January and June 2021. The northern states of Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Plateau and Zamfara are among those affected.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria. It is passed on from feces through contaminated food, drinks and unhygienic environments, and causes severe dehydration. Infected people can die if their illness is not quickly managed with oral rehydration.

The World Health Organisation has warned against mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines, noting that lack of study and data on its effect makes engaging in it dangerous.

Giving the warning during an online briefing on Monday, WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminatha advised against people mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers, calling it a “dangerous trend” since there was little data available about the health impact.

Scientists at Oxford University, United Kingdom, have commenced a clinical trial for a novel HIV vaccine. The trial known as HIV-CORE 0052 began on Monday. The goal of the trial, according to Oxford, is to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the HIVconsvX vaccine – a mosaic vaccine targeting a broad range of HIV-1 variants, making it potentially applicable for HIV strains in any geographical region.

For this clinical trial, 13 healthy adults aged between 18–65 who were considered not to be at high risk of infection received one dose of the vaccine which will be followed by a further booster dose at four weeks.