Lassa Fever Resurfaces In Calabar… Pregnant Woman Dies, Doctors and Nurses Isolated!!!

Lassa fever yesterday claimed the life of a pregnant woman, and her unborn baby at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH).

#WorldHepatitisDay: Dr Julz Reminds Us Of Ways To Stay Healthy And Strong. (MUST READ)

Today is World Hepatitis Day. People all over the world mark this day as a remainder of the health implication of hepatitis, a public health disease.

The Award winning Radio/TV presenter and Medical Doctor, Dr Julz, took to her twitter account to espouse the significance of the day and what it holds for you and your family, you and your neighbour.

You need to go to her twitter handle for more on the subject matter. Remember that she is also a Public Health Media Specialist.

JOIN OUR BBM CHANNEL C0015D291... REMAIN INFORMED STAY HEALTHY 

Man who looked pregnant for more than a decade finally has huge tumour removed

A Chinese man who lived with a tumour so big he looked heavily pregnant for a decade has finally had the two-stone growth removed from his stomach.

Prince 'diagnosed with AIDS weeks before his death- Report Claims

Music icon Prince was “preparing to die for a little while” after being diagnosed with AIDS, The National ENQUIRER reports.
According to Radaronline,the paper reports that Prince was “preparing to die for a little while” because he had been diagnosed with AIDS!

A music industry source interviewed by The ENQUIRER messaged friends on April 19 to reveal Prince had full-blown AIDS.

LASSA FEVER UPDATE: Nurses Must Be Well Protected!!

Nigerian nurses have been advised to take precautionary measures in protecting themselves and the public from the current Lassa fever outbreak and other infectious diseases in the country.

The chairperson, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, FCT Council, Comrade Deborah Yusuf, in a statement said when universal precaution is carried out effectively by nurses, it will reduce or minimise the spread of most infectious diseases through cross infection from patients to nurses or other health care personnel.

“All nurses at the entry point of every health care facility must use a personal protective equipment, that is the use of gloves, eye goggles, gowns, shoes especially on patients that present the signs and symptoms similar to that of Lassa fever, which include: headache, general body malaise, fever, sore throat, pains, cold, rashes, vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding from orifices of the body. Universal precaution should be applied until proven otherwise by the laboratory investigations,” she said.

She said all hands must be on deck to prevent more nurses from losing their lives as many have died while rendering care to patients. Yusuf said in the event of an established case, isolation should be done immediately and the patient will benefit from barrier nursing, adding that nurses are most times at the receiving end as they come into direct contact with the patient’s faeces, urine and other body fluids, as well as secretions from an infected patient.

REFERENCE: Daily Trust News

Lassa Fever Update From Lagos State (EXCLUSIVE)

It has become clear that the Lassa Fever scourge continues unabated. However, the Lagos state Government keeps her citizen abreast of events by publishing updates to that effects. READ UPDATE HERE...

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PICTURES: 10 Concrete Steps To Proper Hand Washing Against Lassa Fever 

Signs, Symptoms, and Diagnosis of Zika Virus By CDC (MUST READ)

About 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus become ill (i.e., develop Zika).

The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.

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ALL YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ZIKA VIRUS BY W.H.O

The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.

Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for a few days but it can be found longer in some people.

Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.

Deaths are rare.

Diagnosis

The symptoms of Zika are similar to those of dengueand chikungunuya, diseases spread through the same mosquitoes that transmit Zika.

See your healthcare provider if you develop the symptoms described above and have visited an area where Zika is found.

If you have recently traveled, tell your healthcare provider when and where you traveled.

Your healthcare provider may order blood tests to look for Zika or other similar viruses like dengue or chikungunya.

Treatment

No vaccine or medications are available to prevent or treat Zika infections.

Treat the symptoms:

• Get plenty of rest
• Drink fluids to prevent dehydration
• Take medicines, such as acetaminophen or paracetamol, to relieve fever and pain
• Do not take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen and naproxen. Aspirin and NSAIDs should be avoided until dengue can be ruled out to reduce the risk of hemorrhage (bleeding). If you are taking medicine for another medical condition, talk to your healthcare provider before taking additional medication.

If you have Zika, avoid mosquito bites for the first week of your illness.

During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be found in the blood and passed from an infected person to another mosquito through mosquito bites.

An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people.

FG Announced Contaiment Strategy For Lassa Fever... Do You Think It Is Sufficient

I hate to do this, but I have to make my input into the whole Lassa Fever Outbreak. Currently, I am at a teaching hospital, (name withheld), and the feeling here is that may the Lassa Fever outbreak never reach here.

I keep on hearing different things that the Federal government is doing to halt the spread… the latest of which is a ‘CONTAINMENT STRATEGY’>>>

This strategy includes the following:

i. Immediate release of adequate quantities of ribavirin, the specific antiviral drug for Lassa fever to all the affected states for prompt and adequate treatment of cases.

ii. Deployment of rapid response teams from the Ministry to all the affected states to assist in investigating and verifying the cases and tracing of contracts.

iii. Sensitisation and mobilisation of clinicians and relevant healthcare workers in areas of patient management and care in the affected states.

iv. Urging affected states to intensify awareness creation on the signs and symptoms and general hygiene.

Do you think the government got it right?

Are there things you feel have been missed from their whole plan?

What things did they do correctly that deserve our praise?

In general, is the fight against Lassa Fever being won, or are we simply going round in a circle?

You can leave your comment in the comment box, just below. Your answers and identity will be protected with utmost secrecy.

Lassa Fever: Lagos Records First Causalty.

The Lagos State Government yesterday confirmed two more cases of Lassa fever in the state with one of the victims already dead.

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• ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT LASSA FEVER 
• MAIN REASON WHY YOU CANNOT DRINK GARRI IN THIS LASSA FEVER OUTBREAK 

The development brought the number of Lassa fever cases in the state to three, including the index case at Ahmaddiya Hospital in Ojokoro part of the state.

 

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, yesterday said the deceased is a a 51-year-old resident of Ilasan Leki and indigene of Edo State,was initially admitted at Divine Medical Centre in Ikoyi on January 12, this year, but died at 2 pm the same day before the result of the laboratory test that confirmed him positive was received.His corpse has been kept in the morgue in a leakproof body bag.

He said his ministry had listed 447 contacts of the confirmed cases and 438 (98 per cent) of the contacts were being monitored.

 The index case was responding to treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH),while the second victim,a 36-year-old lady; an indigene of Kogi Statehas since been receiving antiviral medication.

 

 FULL TEXT: Press Briefing on Lassa Fever By Nigeria's Minister of Health 

 

WHO: Ebola At Greater Risk of Joints and Eye Problems

Many Ebola survivors are likely to face further health issues including eye and joint problems, the World Health Organization has warned. And a recent case may have caught Ebola through sexual contact with someone who had recovered, experts said.

 

The WHO has decided the crisis still constitutes as a public health emergency of international concern. But said there had been "real, substantive progress" in the drive to end the outbreak in the last few weeks.

 

Health aftermath

Officials announced they are attempting to set up clinics in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea to monitor the health consequences Ebola survivors face. Patients have reported problems with their vision, joints and on-going fatigue.

 

But Dr Bruce Aylward, assistant director general of the WHO, admitted not much was known about the long-term implications of the virus. He said the information gathered at these clinics would help the mental and physical health needs of people recovering from the disease.

 

Experts from the organisation also said a recent Ebola patient was "likely to have been infected following sexual contact involving a survivor some months after his recovery".

 

Meanwhile reports suggest Liberian medics have been investigating whether a patient may have contracted the disease in this way.

 

WHO scientists are now considering whether it would be feasible to offer screening to check if the virus is still present in semen 90 days after male survivors have been declared Ebola free. Current WHO advice says survivors should practice safe sex for three months following recovery as the virus can linger in these bodily fluids.

 

International spread

At a meeting convened to review whether the WHO should continue to describe the outbreak as an international emergency, Dr Aylward said real progress had been made. He said the worst-affected countries were on track in clearing the disease, despite the advancing rainy season which had threatened to make logistics harder. And the WHO said the risks of international spread of the virus were abating.

 

But Dr Aylward warned numbers were "not at zero by any stretch". Challenges continue, including new cases that are not on registered lists of known Ebola contacts. Just 30 confirmed infections were recorded in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the previous week. But the decline in numbers posed a challenge for those developing vaccines and therapies, the WHO warned.

 

There have been 25,532 cases during this Ebola outbreak and 10,584 deaths.

 

By Smitha Mundasad

BBC

True Life Story of an Ebola Nurse..

Aminata Bockarie, 33, is a nurse and team leader at the IFRC Ebola treatment centre in Kono, Sierra Leone. This is her story.

 

When we are on a morning shift, we come, we allocate the nurses duties and what we are supposed to do. We go in to the patient wards in the high risk area, we attend to the patients, we give them food. Whatever they need, we do it for them. So from there, if other help is needed, we can do for them any request they make.

 

I joined the Red Cross because I want to help my people. When the outbreak came to Sierra Leone I was so confused. I was not working here. The first time they called me to the Red Cross office in Kenema, I went there for training, did the training for three days, but then I ran away. I was so afraid.

 

Even my mother called me not to work here. I said yes and I went back home. Then they called me again, saying that they needed a second batch of nurses. I went to the office, took an interview with them and did another training. Then I started working at the Ebola treatment centre (ETC) in Kenema. Now, I am in Kono.

 

I changed my mind because I would like to help my people. I was seeing my people dying and in that time we were not having enough nurses to volunteer to do the job. So I sacrificed for myself to help my people. It's not because of money. Because even my elder sister, I lost my elder sister.

 

She was a nurse, working in Kailahun district. She came to visit and advised me not to work at the ETC. I said okay. The following day she went back to her centre.

 

Within three days somebody called me that my sister was sick, they have taken her to the government hospital and the following day she died. So all of my people advised me not to work, even my father, everybody. I said I was going to work - this is destiny. If God says you will die, you will die. So I am still working. I have not yet stopped working. I am trying to help my people.

 

Working here is good really. We are trying our best. At the time we opened this centre we were three in each group. But now, we have a lot of nurses.

 

My own group, we are nine. When I come to work, I get in, see the patients - really I like my job. I like to go in, see the patients, talk to them, how they are feeling. If there is any complaint I will just take the medication, I give it to them, I encourage them, whatever they need, I take it and I give it to them.

 

Source:

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Sierra Leone

Bill Gates Fears The Next Ebola Outbreak.

In the Ted Show, Bill Gate expressed the fear of many; more needs to be done to curb the next Ebola Outbreak. Watch it here.

If we carry on and maintain the present status quo, and there is another outbreak, it was be devastating.

Ebola: Sierra Leone Imposes 3-0 as Lock Down

Sierra Leone President, Bai Koroma, has ordered a three-day national lockdown in a renewed attempt to stop the spread of the Ebola virus disease.

Koroma on Saturday unveiled a campaign called ‘Zero Ebola’, in which almost all Sierra Leoneans are supposed to stay indoors from Friday, March 27 to Sunday, March 29, and from 6am to 6pm on three consecutive Saturday — April 4, 11 and 18.

In a statement, the President said, “The campaign will provide an opportunity for communities to be directly involved in the drive to zero cases, to reflect and to pray for the eradication of this disease from our country.”

Sierra Leona tried a three-day lockdown last September in what was primarily an informational campaign, with volunteers going door-to-door to talk with residents about the virus.

Koroma noted that his country had made “tremendous progress” in the fight against the deadly disease as the Ministry of Health reported zero new infections on Friday.

He warned that the rate of transmissions might increase during the upcoming rainy season.

“The economic development of our country and the lives of our people continue to be threatened by the ongoing presence of Ebola in Sierra Leone. The future of our country and the aspirations of our children are at stake,” he added.

Culled From Punch News

Ebola Hits Liberia Again in Fresh Cases

Just when they they were on the brink of being declared free of the dreaded Ebola virus, Liberia on Friday, March 20, 2015 recorded a fresh case of the virus in Monrovia.

Having passed 20 days without a new case, the country was left with just about 22 days to complete the window period before being declared officially free of the virus.

The epidemic has killed over 4,000 people in Liberia since it was introduced in the country.

Liberia’s Acting Head of the Ebola Incident Management Team, Dr Francis Kateh, told the BBC that a woman who was taken into a treatment centre in Monrovia on Thursday had tested positive for the virus.

According to the doctor, the way the woman became infected with the virus is still uncertain and is giving them serious cause for concern.

They hope to quarantine people who must have come in contact with the woman in order to curb further spread of the disease in the country.

This development is coming weeks after the last known Ebola patient, Beatrice Yardolo, was discharged from a treatment centre in Monrovia.

The latest outbreak of the virus is said to be the most deadly as it has killed over 10,000 people in affected countries including Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone.

Nigeria which was among the countries affected by the virus after the source Patrick Sawyer stormed the country was officially declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization following proactive measures and co-operation of the citizens and the Jonathan-led administration.

Ebola: Telecom Giant Unveils Code Against Disease

In its bid to support global efforts aimed at stamping out Ebola in West Africa, telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria, has announced a new SMS short code, 7979, that will help raise funds and drive awareness for the initiative.

Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, said the telecoms firm had partnered with the African Union towards this end.

He said the initiative, operating under the hash tag #AfricaAgainstEbola, would use the 7979 dedicated platform to raise funds for the deployment of African health workers to affected countries.

He said in order to support the initiative, Airtel customers are encouraged to send ‘StopEbola’ as an SMS to 7979 at N100 per SMS.

“As a major stakeholder with operations in 17 African countries, we are intensely interested in the communities and people we serve, just as we are passionate about creating platforms to uplift the less privileged.

“This partnership with AU provides a fine opportunity for all of us at Airtel Nigeria to join in kicking Ebola out of Africa. We are committed to the partnership with the African Union on this initiative, as it is in sync with our corporate social responsibility strategy of touching and saving lives.

“All monies realised from the SMS campaign will be donated in full to the AU Fund that has been set up to kick Ebola out of Africa,” Ogunsanya said.

The CEO had earlier donated mobile phones, sim cards and airtime to all the 290 Nigerian doctors, nurses and other care-givers who have volunteered to join the fight against Ebola.

He urged other private organisations to emulate Airtel in the effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against the disease that has claimed over 9,637 lives across West Africa

Culled from The Punch.

Ebola vax trials reaches advanced stages.

I think this is cheering news. The absence of buffer zones makes Ebola very deadly, especially to health care providers!!!

Ebola in Sierra Leone: Vice-President in Self-Quarantine After Guard Dies

Sierra Leone's vice-president has put himself in quarantine following the death from Ebola of one of his security guards.

Vice-President Samuel Sam-Sumana is set to become acting president later Sunday when President Ernest Bai Koroma leaves Sierra Leone to attend a European Union conference on Ebola in Belgium. Sam-Sumana will carry out his presidential duties from his home.

He is the highest ranking African official to be in quarantine in this Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which is fast approaching a death toll of 10,000. The news highlights the rise of new cases in Sierra Leone, which has experienced a setback in curbing the spread of Ebola.

Sam-Sumana voluntarily decided to quarantine himself for 21 days following the death from Ebola last Tuesday of one of his security personnel.

"This virus has affected thousands of our people and has nearly brought our country to its knees," said Sam-Sumana in a statement on Sunday. "We all have a collective responsibility to break the chains of transmission by isolating the sick and reporting all known contacts, by not touching the dead ... We cannot be complacent. We must work together as a nation to end Ebola now."

Sam-Sumana's dramatic quarantine comes as President Ernest Bai Koroma reinstated restrictions on public movement on Saturday, in response the rise in new cases.

Sierra Leone recorded 18 new cases of Ebola in the week ending Saturday, up from 16 new cases last week. This breaks the trend of declining cases in the country.

CBC

WHO: Speaks Tough About Psychiatry

Who would have thought that the World Health Organisation, WHO, would ever stand firm on the side of Psychiatrists after a long while. I m shocked!!!!!!!!!
 I have never seen any WHO tweet mention Psychiatry in such glowing terms....
NO HEALTH WITHOUT MENTAL HEALTH.... so cool!!!

Hanks Anuku, Actor, Denies Being HIV Positive...

Popular Nollywood actor, Hanks Anuku has denied viral report of him being HIV positive and infecting his wife .The actor who has since relocated to Ghana to the NET, he is absolutely HIV free

‘I think it’s just a malicious rumour being spread around and it’s definitely fueled by a lot of pain and jealousy, which explains why it has been so embellished with such fallacies. My wife called me and we’ve spoken about this. She’s a very calm person, and I’m so proud because we understand each other. We know the story is false, and she’s taking it so lightly but it hurts. I’ve never had any such sexcapades in my life; I don’t even hang out with women like that. People that know me will attest to the fact that I have principles and I have self-control when it comes to women. So, I don’t have H.I.V or any infection of any kind,’

Liberia To End Ebola Curfew

VENTURES AFRICA – Liberia will end the curfew that was necessitated by the Ebola epidemic and open up closed intra-city borders, President Ellen Johnson SirLeaf has ordered.
    “President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has ordered the lifting of the curfew imposed nationwide. It takes effect beginning Sunday, February 22, 2015,” a statement on the country’s presidency website read.
Liberia, along with Guinea and Sierra Leone, make up the three worst-hit countries by a disease that has killed more than 9000 West Africans and led the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a global health emergency.
    However, since the turn of the year positive signs that the epidemic could be nearing its end are becoming visible. Earlier this month, all three badly hit countries revealed a 60 days target of no new Ebola cases.