Frontpage News (3249)
Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have invested more than 100 million dollars in a new cancer test. Grail, the company developing the test, said on Tuesday in Beijing that the method was a universal blood test to identify early-stage cancers in people with no symptoms. Jay Flatley, Illumina Chief Executive, who would serve as chairman of Grail, said the technology was aimed at detecting newly-forming cancers, and treat them at an earlier stage to increase the chances of survival.
He said the company started this new test 18 months ago, and that it was estimated to take at least an additional year of research and development to refine it. Flatley said the process was being carried out through a technique called a “liquid biopsy’’. “It scans patients’ blood streams for signs of cancer DNA, which can indicate that a tumor is forming, even if a doctor can’t see it on a scan and the patient hasn’t
Lassa Fever: Death Toll Rises To 41 From 93 Suspected Cases – Minister
The Federal Government says Lassa fever has claimed 41 lives from 93 reported cases in 10 states of the country. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the federal government on Friday put the death toll at 40 out of 86 reported cases of Lassa fever outbreak in same 10 states. The number of the suspected cases also rose from 86 last week to 93. Prof. Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health, confirmed this in Abuja on Tuesday at a joint ministerial news conference on the update of the outbreak of the disease.
However, Adewole said there were no new confirmed cases or death in the last 48 hours. He did not disclose the state from which the additional life was lost. “In the last 48 hours the government raised a four-man expert committee, chaired by Prof. Michael Asuzu, to visit Kano, Niger and Bauchi, the three most endemic states. “The committee will embark on a fact finding mission, assess the current situation, document response experiences, identify gaps and proffer recommendations on how to prevent future occurrences,’’ he said.
The dreaded lassa fever on Thursday claimed the life a medical doctor at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH), Port Harcourt, Dr. Ehivai Njamala. The death of Njamala brings to three, the number of persons who have been killed by the disease since its outbreak in Rivers State in December 2015. Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in the state, Dr. Duro Green, who disclosed this to newsmen in Port Harcourt, said the medical doctor contracted the disease while treating patients at the Disease Control Unit in BMSH.
Green used the opportunity to announced the commencement of a three-day warning strike by the NMA following the kidnap of two medical doctors in the state few days ago. Dr. Ib Aprioku, a consultant with the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH), Port Harcourt, was kidnapped on Sunday, January 10, 2016, while Dr Isaac Opurum, the director in charge of Community Health Services in the Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board, was kidnapped in the early hours of yesterday from his residence in the state capital.
Declaring the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia and saying all known chains of transmission had been stopped in West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday hinted that new flare-ups are likely to occur. This was made known in a statement obtained by our correspondent in New York from the office of Dr Alex Gasasira, WHO Representative in Liberia. The statement warned that the job is not over, stressing that more flare-ups are expected and that strong surveillance and response systems would be critical in the months to come.
It would be recalled that Liberia was first declared free of Ebola transmission in May 2015, but the virus was re-introduced twice since then, with the latest flare-up in November. The United Nations health agency however commended the West African governments and people on their effective response to this recent re-emergence of Ebola, adding that the rapid cessation of the flare-up was a concrete demonstration of the governments’ strengthened capacity to manage disease outbreaks.
Thanks to a steady increase in Americans willing to donate their organs to save the lives of others, organ transplants in the United States reached a milestone in 2015, exceeding 30,000 for the first time, a non-profit group reported Wednesday. Those 30,973 transplants of kidneys, livers and other organs were nearly 5% more than performed in 2014 and came after years of fairly slow, steady climbs, said officials with the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). The network coordinates U.S. transplant activities.
This landmark achievement is a testament to the generosity of the American public to help others through donation, and their trust in the transplant system to honor their life-saving gift,” the group’s president, Betsy Walsh, said in a statement. Stepped-up organ donations, rather than any breakthroughs in transplant surgery, likely drove increases in recent years, said David Klassen, the network's chief medical officer. Transplant centers also have worked to improve logistics, so that fewer donated organs are discarded, he said.
In an effort to halt the cases of Lassa fever currently putting the Nigerian health sector in overdrive, the National Assembly has urged the Federal Government to consider giving out free rat killers to Nigerians in order to control or possibly completely eradicate the disease vector. According to a report presented by the office of the Special Assistant to the President on NASS Matters, members of the senate commended the Hon. Minister of Health for proactive measures already taken to manage the outbreak.
The Minister was invited and to be accompanied by other relevant health agencies to brief the Senate on the outbreak of the disease and to explain how far the Ministry has gone in its effort to curb further spread of the disease, the report stated. The Senators also urged the Federal Government, Health agencies and non-governmental organizations to carry out holistic and aggressive sensitization at markets, restaurants, neighbourhoods, communities, offices and schools on the disease. The Senate also wants the public in States affected and those not affected, to be educated on preventive measures.
In its commitment to bringing effective medical service delivery to residents of the state, the Lagos State House of Assembly, through its Committee on Health Services, Tuesday ordered the closure of the blood bank section of Gbagada General Hospital. The committee, which was accompanied by the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency HEFEMAA, took this action after discovering some unethical procedures during an inspection exercise of the hospital. Chairman of the Committee, Segun Olulade, who lamented the unhealthy situation at the blood bank unit, authorised the immediate sealing off of the unit.
The HEFEMAA team leader and Executive Secretary, Dr. Mabel Adjekughele observed that the blood bank was in a bad state, with screened and unscreened blood not separated and advised that the bank be sealed. The committee also visited the Cardiac and Renal Centre also located in Gbagada General Hospital, where the Director of the Centre, Prof. Babatunde Olabode Green told the committee that some of the acquired world-class medical equipment are not functioning, either due to improper installations or poor quality of installation materials. Prof. Green also blamed power supply for the failure to run the facility to its full capacity.
Pharmacists roll out 23 recommendations on how to strengthen health sector
PHARMACISTS under the aegis of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) have appraised the health sector in Nigeria even as they made twenty-three recommendations on how to improve services in the country. President PSN, Ahmed I. Yakasai, yesterday, at a press conference in Lagos said his vision is to strengthen the society with collaborative, participatory, responsive and transparent leadership.
Yakasai said he plans to establish a Medicines Information Centre in collaboration with United Kingdom (U.K.) Medicines Information Service, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and Monitor Health Care. He said this is with the aim of finding ways of helping to reduce adverse drug events and medication-related errors, reducing prescription, dosage, and duplicate therapy errors, providing standard terminology and improved data entry, helping improve organizational efficiency, providing access to continually updated, evidenced-based clinical content and enhancing patient safety.
The first case of Lassa fever currently taking its toll in different parts of the country was brought to the Accident and Emergency unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on Friday evening. According to an attendant at the unit who spoke on condition of anonymity, the first confirmed case of Lassa fever is now in Accident and Emergency unit of LUTH. The source said the patient identified as Ahmed Fasasi, a 25 year old male who is a student of Ahmadu Bello University was brought in Friday evening.He is said to have just arrived from the Northern part of Nigeria. He said, “The Patient isolated, containment area being devised, ribavirin available. The Theatre in Accident and Emergency will be used as isolation ward. No need to panic. But limit movement to Accident and Emergency if not necessary.” The source said the management of the hospital got information that the patient was first admitted in a private hospital in Lagos, saying they have also started contact tracing to avert spread of the disease in the state.
The federal government will tomorrow inaugurate a National Lassa Fever Action Committee in view of the outbreak of Lassa fever recorded in the country. The Director, Media and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs Boade Akinola, stated this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday. The statement also quoted the minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewale, as indicating that the ministry would convene an Emergency National Council on Health meeting to discuss the on-going Lassa fever outbreak in the country.
According to the statement, the committee will be inaugurated during the emergency meeting, scheduled to hold tomorrow. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister put the number of reported cases to 129. He made this known on January 14 while addressing the Senate Committee on Health, headed by Senato Lanre Tejuoso, on the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria. Meanwhile, The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has called on government to improve existing response mechanism to ensure rapid response in cases of disease outbreaks in the country.
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Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and other health unions have in recent times called on the Federal Government on issues relating to withholding of staff emoluments and denial of other legitimate privileges such as annual increment of salaries inadequate or obsolate equipment in wards and clinics as well as security breaches among others. According to the various unions in the health sector, they are confident that the enforcement of the public service rule on the tenure of Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors in the Nations’ tertiary hospitals can avert the problems rocking the health sector in Nigeria.
The unions in an interview with LEADERSHIP, said government can avert unnecessary unrest in the various health institutions by ensuring due process in its appointment. It will be recalled that a circular from the Head of Service dated 27th of July 2009 was signed by former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Stephen Orosanye, with the title: Interpretation of Public Service Rules on Compulsory Retirement Age/Year of Service in Relation to Appointment of Serving Public Officers, reads: “The attention of the Federal Government has been drawn to the need to correct the interpretation of the public career officers who are serving as Executive Directors or Directors-General, Chief Executives of parastatals, agencies and government-owned companies.
The Ebonyi Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources on Monday at Ugwuachara in Abakaliki destroyed 1,500 birds, to prevent further spread of the Avian Influenza, popularly known as Bird Flu, to other farms in the state. The state Commissioner, Mr Uchenna Orji, who made this known to newsmen, said that the ministry swung into action in order de-contaminate the affected farm. “We have destroyed 1,500 birds and the feeds, to avoid further spread to other poultry farms. “We went into action following the test results which revealed that the birds had been attacked by the Avian Influenza.’’
He said that the ministry had declared a state of emergency in the poultry industry, to alert members of the public and poultry farms owners to report cases of affected birds. He added that the ministry would place surveillance on neighboring communities and poultry farms, to avoid any spread of the disease. “Ebonyi is an agrarian state with crops, fish farming and poultry among others, and the ministry is alive to its duties, responsive and responsible to ensure that farmers in the state are protected from disease attacks.
The Federal Government has disclosed that Lassa fever has spread to 17 states, saying that the epidemic has claimed 63 lives out of 212 suspected victims from 62 local government areas in affected states. The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, stated this yesterday during the emergency National Council of Health meeting in Abuja on the outbreak of the disease. Adewole listed the 17 affected states as Bauchi, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Oyo, Ondo, Edo, Plateau, Gombe, Nasarawa, Lagos, Delta, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Zamfara and Kogi as well as the FCT.
He added that there is high level of denial and conspiracy across some states, adding that health managers should not deceive executives by the pretence and silence. The minister described the denial of Ebonyi State to report five suspected cases and one death as conspiracy of denial. He said every state should consider itself at risk and put measures to contain and prevent the disease. Adewole said the federal government would maintain high level of alert all year round to celebrate Lassa fever obituary next year.
The federal government has alerted that Meningitis Type ‘C’ is on the prowl and like other severe diseases, it has claimed several lives and is threatening to do more in the absence of vaccines. Meningitis is a serious and often deadly disease in which an outside layer of the brain or spinal cord becomes infected and swollen, it is usually caused by a virus or bacterium. This was announced by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Abdulsalam Nasidi at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, during the emergency National Council on Health on Lassa fever outbreak which had all commissioners of health in attendance.
He said Type ‘A’ meningitis has been successfully dealt with but with time, it has resurfaced with a different face which is referred to as Meningitis ‘C’ and has claimed several lives.He called on state governors, especially in the north-west, to start planning and warming up towards the introduction of vaccines in order to fight the disease to a halt. He said early preparation will forestall more victims and casualties. “There is a need to inform us that there have been reported cases of Meningitis ‘C’ in our country and it is killing lives. The Type ‘A’ has been successfully dealt with and now we are battling with the ‘C’ type. I call on all state governors especially those of the north-west to start warming up to introduce vaccines and must not rest on their oars.”
