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The Plateau Government says it has trained 66 laboratory scientists and technicians on effective ways of diagnosing and handling Lassa fever. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Kunden Deyin, disclosed this on Saturday in Jos at the opening of a workshop on the viral disease. He said that the objective of the training was to help bring succour to the public and avert further mortality arising from Lassa fever in the state. ``The workshop is to broaden the knowledge of participants about the disease and ensure containment as well as promote standard precautions.’’ According to Deyin, there is need to safeguard the lives of the health workers through the use of personal protective equipment while carrying out diagnoses.
``This workshop is also to re-orientate you on the need for implementing standard precautions in the handling and taking of samples.” Mr Agwo Martin, a participant, who described the training as timely, said it would create awareness on the various ways of handling the disease. Similarly, Dr James Damen, the Chairman, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria, commended the ministry for the training, noting that laboratory scientists play a vital role in the diagnosis of the disease.
Nigeria’s Lagos State targets 4 million children in measles immunization exercise
Jide Idris, commissioner for health in the Nigerian state, while flagging off the program, said objective of the immunization exercise was to reduce childhood mortality and morbidity from measles, a vaccine preventable disease, among children aged nine months to 59 months.The vaccination exercise, which will be rounded off on Feb. 1, is the second phase of a nationwide measles campaign aimed at reducing any build up of susceptibles born since the previous supplemental immunization activities.
Idris said at least 95 percent of eligible children with measles antigens, irrespective of their previous immunizations status, will be immunized. Measles vaccine is safe for all children, even if the child has any common illness including undernourishment, malaria or diarrhea. According to the World Health Organization, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 17.1 million deaths between 2000 and 2014, making measles vaccine one of the best buys in public health. The government in Lagos State said it has made provision of 521 fixed
In a statement by the Ministry on Friday, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, assured Nigerians that there was no case of the Zika Virus in the country. The Minister, however, directed the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to include Zika Virus diagnosis as part of the ongoing efforts to manage Lassa fever outbreak. The World Health Organization has raised a global alert because the disease has spread in Brazil and 22 countries in the Americas. The Zika Virus disease is transmitted through the bite of a particular mosquito known as Aedes Aegypti with symptomssuch as mild fever, rash, joint pain and red eye.
If the virus gets into a pregnant woman, it can cause birth defects in the unborn baby. At the moment, there is no cure or vaccine for the virus. Nigeria is currently trying to contain Lassa Fever that has claimed over 77 lives across the country, with the latest deaths occurring in Lagos and Ebonyi States.
It has been reported that 91,534 Nigerians are infected with with tuberculosis annually but sadly, several cases remain unreported, thereby making it difficult for the disease eradication. Also, Nigeria has been ranked 4th among 22 high tuberculosis burden countries in the world with 322 new persons estimated among 100,000 patients and 44 persons out of 100,000. This was revealed by Dr Mustapha Gidado, the country representative of Royal Dutch Tuberculosis Foundation during a sensitisation media workshop on the disease, it’s causes, symptoms, treatment and duration, as well as its prevention. Tuberculosis is a major threat to the existence of HIV and it is very important that both are treated simultaneously as already, 91,534 were notified of it in 2014, 85,891 adults, 5,643 children and 16,066 HIV positive individuals.”
He disclosed that there are over 6,000 health facilities across the 774 local governments in Nigeria providing tuberculosis services and they include private, faith-based, tertiary, secondary as well as primary healthcare centres. The disease which affects the chest can develop to a level of drug-resistant tuberculosis which takes “20 months for drugs intake and eight months of daily injections. However, research is on-going globally to reduce the drug intake to a lesser period for effective treatment.”
Another World Leprosy Day has come and gone and the disease is still spreading with 3,000 new cases been reported annually in Nigeria, especially with the involvement of child-related cases. KUNI TYESSI in this report highlights the causes, symptoms, treatment as well as preventive measures as many still live in ignorance of it. Known as Hansen’s Disease, leprosy is caused by a type of bacteria otherwise known as mycobacterium leprae and is known to multiply very slowly. Its incubation period is said to be between 5 years while symptoms can take 20 years to appear and it mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Throughout its history, leprosy has been feared and misunderstood with several mythical and cultural undertone attached to it. For a long time, it was thought to be a hereditary disease, a curse, or a punishment from God as there are stories in the Bible that suggests this.
Before and even after the discovery of its biological cause, leprosy patients were stigmatized and shunned. For example, in Europe, historical fact records that during the Middle Ages, its sufferers had to wear special clothing and ring bells to warn others that they were close, and even walk on a particular side of the road, depending on the direction of the wind. Even in modern times, its treatment has often occured in seperate hospitals and live-in colonies called leprosariums because of the stigma of the disease. Contrary to the social stigma, it is not highly contagious, and does not cause body parts to fall off. It is not also caused by witchcraft, neither are the suffers witches or wizards. In fact, 95% of the world’s population is naturally immune to the disease and once diagnosed, a person is easily cured. It is not highly infectious and transmission from human to human is through respiratory droplets from the nose and mouth, during close and frequent contacts with untreated cases. It’s also possible to get the bacteria from armadillo and other non-human primates.
LAGOS — As part of preventive measures against possible outbreak of Zika virus, the Federal Government says it has put measures in place to ensure that the virus is not transmitted by mosquitoes in the country.
Experts are worried that the virus is spreading far and fast, with devastating consequences. The infection has been linked to cases of microcephaly, in which babies are born with underdeveloped brains.
The WHO alert punbsp;The WHO alert puts Zika in the same category of concern as Ebola.
It means research and aid will be fast-tracked to tackle the infection. There have been around 4,000 reported cases of microcephaly in Brazil alone since October.
The Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti (FETHI), yesterday announced the recovery and subsequent discharge of a female lassa fever patient from the hospital.
The Chief Medical Director, Dr Lawrence Ayodele who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday in Ido Ekiti said, the feat was achieved through the determination of staff of the tertiary health institution.
A 19-year-old student of School of Nursing, owned by the institution, was diagnosed with the diseases about three weeks ago and has been receiving treatment at isolation centre of the hospital.
Presently, in South America, there are as many as 1 million adults reported to have been infected by the Zika virus.
It is a disease which experts say is usually relatively mild and requires no specific treatment.
However, recent incidents were accompanied by the Brazilian Health Ministry’s latest announcement that the suspected and confirmed cases of babies with microcephaly linked to the Zika virus in Brazil had increased from over 3000 cases to 4,074.
Cancer: Foundation Screens 11,500 Women In Kwara
Written by Super UserThe LEAH charity foundation,a pet project of the wife of Kwara State governor, Mrs Omolewa Ahmed has between 2013 and now screen 11,500 women for breast and cervical cancer in the state.
The screening exercise was carried out at the LEAH cancer centre in Ilorin, the state capital. Mrs. Ahmed disclosed this yesterday during a press conference to mark this year’s World Cancer Day.
Represented by the Executive Director of LEAH Foundation, Alhaji Lanre Bello, Mrs Omolewa disclosed that out of the 11,500 women that were screened, 96 were discovered to have full blown cervical cancer while 200 have breast cancer.
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The federal government is making effort to include Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) immunisation as part of the routine immunisation programme.
The vaccine which is available in health service outlets in Nigeria in both private and public hospitals is expected to be given to girls for cervical cancer prevention.
This was revealed by the minister of health, Prof Isaac Adewole during the commemoration of the World Cancer Day in Abuja and with the theme “We Can, I Can.
The Borno Primary Health Care Management Board (BPHCM) says no fewer than 190,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 28 camps in the state had benefitted from its free medical outreach. The Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Sule Mene,
disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Maiduguri. Mene said that 10,800 children aged zero to five were enrolled for management of varying degrees of malnutrition, while about 121,000 were given various immunisation antigen.
He explained that the agency had inaugurated about 240 Integrated Primary Health Care Teams (IPHCT) that would ensure availability of the relevant services to meet the demands of IDPs in camps.
There are plans to end the five months old strike in Osun State following a statement from the Osun State House of Assembly. The Chairman of the Osun State Association of Medical and Dental Officers, Dr. Isiaka Adekunle,
made this known after a meeting with the state's lawmaker over their demands. According to the statement the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Olatubosun Oyintiloye, Adekunle raised the hope of resumption during the meeting of the lawmakers with the leadership of the striking doctors.
It was also reported that the Speaker, Najeem Salaam, appealed to the doctors to suspend the industrial action, saying the masses were at the receiving end of the crisis and noting that they are stakeholders in the state.
HIV/AIDS: 58,000 Babies Are Born With Virus Annually In Nigeria – UNAIDS
Despite the decline in the HIV/AIDS new infection and deaths, a total of 58,000 babies are born annually with the AIDS virus in Nigeria and there are chances of only 50% survival for the babies who are in most cases not exposed to treatment.
Similarly, there are 3.2 million people living with the virus and a total of 91,400 have been tested in 32 local governments which have been accessible to the patients. This was revealed yesterday by the under Secretary General and executive director of UNAIDS mission to Nigeria,
Mr Michel Sidibe when he paid a courtesy visit to the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Prof John Idoko at the agency’s headquaters in Abuja.
