The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 68 more cases of Lassa fever, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 531. The NCDC, in its Lassa fever situation report for week six released on Monday, revealed that the disease killed 15 persons in one week as the death toll rose to 85 from January to February 12, 2023.

According to the report, the number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022. The suspected cases of the infection for week six in 2022 were 1631 while the suspected for week six in 2023 are 2,244.

A new study has suggested that people who drank two or more cups of coffee per day had significantly lower systolic blood pressure than those who did not. The World Health Organisation described hypertension also called high or raised blood pressure, as a condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure. 

The global health organisation acknowledged that hypertension is a serious medical condition that can raise the risk of developing heart, brain, kidney, and other diseases, adding that it is a leading cause of premature death globally, affecting up to 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women, or more than a billion people.

Eight years after the Federal Government signed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 into law which banned Female Genital Mutilation practice in Nigeria, investigations by PUNCH HealthWise confirmed that many girls are still subjected to the illegal harmful practice as many survivors groan in silence. 

Mrs. Nnenna (surname withheld for fear of intimidation) is unhappy that her three-year-old daughter underwent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). She is unhappy because she is a survivor of the harmful practice and so really knows how much it hurts. 

Professor Rotimi Arise of the Department of Biochemistry, University of Ilorin, has urged Nigerians to consume more indigenous fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts in their daily diet to build more antibodies to prevent and protect them against diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and ulcer.

Arise made the call in his inaugural lecture, noting that the consumption of indigenous fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts which are rich in antioxidants, short peptides and micronutrients is quite beneficial to health.

Nigeria’s shambolic healthcare delivery system is under renewed attack from several fronts. Apart from frequent outbreaks of diseases, dependence on imported medicines and the exodus of medical professionals, the influx of fake and substandard drugs has become a deluge, causing illnesses, disabilities and deaths in Nigeria and other West African countries.

The government needs to urgently reinvigorate its strategy to protect the people from the scourge of counterfeit drugs. Assailed by outbreaks of cholera, Lassa fever, and diphtheria, among others, in several of its constituent parts, and with a weak health system, fake drugs are compounding the misery of Nigerians and the sub-region.

Recently, I was doing a study about children living with sickle cell disease having a stroke. This was where I came across the term ‘silent’ stroke in children. The doctor talking about it in a YouTube video mentioned how the child could still be functioning ‘normally.’

The normal stroke that people know of is a stroke where there’s weakness in one’s face, leg, arm, or one side of the body. To hear the term ‘silent’ stroke in children made me want to understand the term better. I decided to find out more about it and write about it. I have read many articles and collated something for this column. Let’s read on and educate ourselves further.

Esther was 38 years old and her husband, Kunle, was 40 when they began investigating the cause of their infertility. They were married for four years and longing for a child when they finally opted to visit a fertility centre in Lagos.

Following a series of basic and routine tests, some issues were discovered that were preventing conception, so the couple was recommended to undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Under the supervision of their specialist, Esther had the IVF procedure. She was monitored and stimulated to produce eggs, as sperm collected from Kunle fertilised the eggs in a laboratory.

This is a fairly common set of problems to be found especially in women and they are often associated with swelling, discharge, pain, change in colour, and itching. These problems in the nipples can lead to discomfort and affect anyone.

They can lead to significant amounts of discomfort from time to time. But most of the causes are not serious and can easily be treated. In other cases, however, such occurrences would indicate the presence of some underlying health conditions. Some of the more common symptoms of these lesions are as follows:

A Professor of Psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Taiwo Sheikh, has warned that the scarcity of the old and new naira notes will push many Nigerians into frustration and depression.

He also said the situation would worsen the cases of suicide in the country if the Federal Government fails to urgently address the problem. Prof. Sheikh, who is the immediate past President of the Association of Psychiatry in Nigeria, said the situation if not checked will plunge a lot of Nigerians into mental health crises that will require hospital admission amid a scarcity of manpower and infrastructure. 

Patients and their relatives are lamenting the scarcity of the naira, noting that it has made payment for medical bills difficult. Some of the patients who spoke with PUNCH HealthWise bemoaned the impact of the ongoing naira scarcity on medical treatment, adding that they are facing serious frustrations to get treated as some doctors are also insisting on cash payment for tests, drugs, and treatment.

Our correspondent who visited some hospitals in communities in Lagos and Ogun states reported that many patients are lamenting the non-availability of naira notes to settle medical bills, noting that the naira scarcity has made the payment for medical bills to become a herculean task.