Frontpage News (3249)
Do you care about the state of healthcare and the environment in Nigeria? Are you interested in starting your own Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)? Or are you heading an existing organization and need assistance to successfully run your organization and attract funding for your projects?More research needed on why symptoms linger among COVID-19 survivors -WHO
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The World Health Organisation says it is concerned about the increasing cases of post-intensive care syndrome among recovered COVID-19 patients, noting that there is now a need for more studies to better understand the reason for protracted symptoms in many recovered patients.
According to the United States National Institute of Health, post-intensive care syndrome in COVID-19 patients is often characterised by a conglomeration of symptoms involving physical strength deficits, cognitive decline, and mental health disturbances.
Excessive antibiotics use fuelling antimicrobial resistance –Physicians
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Health professionals have expressed concerns at the rate of antibiotics consumption by Nigerians, noting that excessive consumption of the drug is contributing to the increasing incidence of antimicrobial resistance in the country.
According to the World Health Organisation, antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
Too early to know if COVID-19 vaccines will provide long-term protection, says WHO
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The World Health Organisation says it is too early to know if COVID-19 vaccines can provide long-term protection from the virus. Globally, the novel coronavirus has killed at least 1,843,631 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 11:00 GMT on Monday.
At least 85,051,970 cases of coronavirus have been registered. Of these, at least 54,313,600 are now considered recovered. These figures are based on daily tolls provided by health authorities in each country and excludes later re-evaluations by statistical organisations, as has happened in Russia, Spain and Britain.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has ruled out the possibility of conducting a local clinical trial on the proposed N400bn vaccines before administering them on Nigerians.
The agency said since the World Health Organisation had approved the vaccines there might not be need to conduct another clinical trial on the vaccines. It, however, said it would subject vaccines, which the Federal Government may likely spend N400bn to procure, to proper revalidation before administering them on Nigerians.
A study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggests that widely-available mouthwashes can kill coronavirus within 30 seconds. The researchers say they discovered this during an experiment within 30 seconds of exposing the virus to the mouthwash in a laboratory.
The study, carried out by Cardiff University researchers, tested some widely-available mouthwashes to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, using a protocol capable of detecting ‘a 5-log10 reduction in infectivity.’ The researchers, led by Richard J. Stanton, created conditions that mimicked the back of the nose and throat.
A Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Dr. Charles Umeh, has advised that anyone going for a child’s paternity test should consider seeing a psychologist for counselling first.
Dr. Umeh said the truth as to a child’s biological parentage may be comforting or devastating and it is important to see a psychologist ahead of the exercise to prepare one’s mind on the possible outcome of the test. Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, Umeh said, “Hearing that the child you consider to be yours is not yours can be devastating psychologically, emotionally and physically.
Women who induce ovulation with drugs risk ovarian cancer -Study
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A Consultant Gynaecologist, Dr. Adeleke Kaka, has cautioned women battling infertility to stop abusing ovulation-inducing drugs or risk ovarian cancer. Kaka, who is the Medical Director, Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos, says if drugs that induce ovulation are used for too long, they could predispose the user to developing ovarian cancer because of changes to the ovaries.
The gynaecologist gave the warning during an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, advising women experiencing conception problem never to use ovulation-inducing drugs without the supervision of maternal health expert.
Right chemicals for hand sanitiser manufacture, according to SON
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The Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Adamawa chapter, has advised manufacturers of hand sanitisers to always use the right chemicals for their products in the fight against second wave of COVID-19.
The Adamawa coordinator of the organisation, Mr. Sunday Galadima, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Yola. He said that failure to use the right chemicals may lead to harming people in different ways.
FG gives condition for release of COVID-19 vaccines to states
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Ahead of the arrival of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines into the country within the next few weeks, the Federal Government has set a condition that states must fulfil before releasing the vaccines to them.
The Director, Logistics and Health Commodities, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Hajia Kubura Daradara, said on Friday during a webinar hosted by the agency that government would not release the vaccines to the states until the states are ready to administer them.
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Nigeria working hard on locally made COVID-19 vaccine -Fayemi
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The Nigeria Governors’ Forum says Nigeria is speeding up efforts at coming out with a locally manufactured vaccine to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The NGF chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this on Friday, after meeting with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Fayemi said Buhari agreed that beyond shopping for and acquiring vaccines for Nigerians, the ultimate target is to produce the vaccine locally. He noted that already, there is a partnership with a manufacturer to that effect.
People with allergies, pregnant women should not take COVID-19 vaccine –WHO
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The World Health Organisation on Friday says people with a history of a severe allergic reaction to any component of the COVID-19 vaccine and most pregnant women should not to take the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
WHO also said that children under the age of 16 and international travellers who are not part of a prioritised group should also not take the vaccine. The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization issued the policy recommendations for the rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first approved for emergency use.
Kano, Lagos, Katsina health workers top FG’s COVID-19 vaccination list
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Indications have emerged that Kano, Lagos, Katsina and Kaduna states have the highest number of health workers that would receive the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines when the first batch arrive in the country in next few weeks.
The Director, Disease Control and Immunisation, NPHCDA, Dr Bassey Okposen, in his presentation, in a chart during the Friday webinar revealed the number of health workers in each state to be prioritised for vaccination once the vaccines arrive.
Many COVID-19 deaths due to late referral from private facilities -Minister
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The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, has blamed private health facilities in the country for the death of many COVID-19 patients. Mamora, while speaking at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Monday, accused private facilities of referring patients to approved treatment centres late.
The minister said, “The report that many of those who died reported late for treatment at the approved centres because they were referred late from private facilities is alarming. “We, therefore, once again seize this opportunity to urge healthcare practitioners to promptly send all suspected cases for testing and when positive, refer them to isolation centres for treatment.
