Health
HIV Drug Resistance: Minister Harps On Surveillance
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, last Monday, said surveillance and early identification of HIV drug resistance which necessitated prompt intervention, is required to prevent its effect.
Adewole made this known at a Joint Stakeholders Summit on Drug Resistance Monitoring, early Infant Diagnosis and Viral Load held in Lagos,organised by the National HIV/AIDS Control Programme (NASCP), recently.
Adewole, who was represented by the National Coordinator, National AIDs STIs Control Programme, Dr Sunday Aboje said that since the inception of the national HIV response in Nigeria, the programme had witnessed significant improvement orchestrated by the commitment of the various stakeholders.
“More people are getting to know their status and accessing HIV treatment and care; as a result, HIV related deaths are being averted.
“However, there is still pragmatic challenge such as therapy adherence and retention in care with attending issues such as HIV drug resistance, be it pre-ART or acquired among the different population groups.
“Studies have shown that the surveillance and early identification of these issues which necessitates prompt intervention is required to prevent the untold effect of HIV drug resistance, “he said.
The minister said there were still challenges in the management of HIV despite the commitment of government and donor partners to achieving global targets.
According to him, only about 8.9 per cent of infants born to HIV positive women were being tested.
“This is due to difficulty with tracking babies of HIV positive mothers delivered outside public facilities.
“Also, poor Dried Blood Spots (testing of infant blood samples) and viral load testing sample logistic systems.
“And weak mentorship and supportive supervision at the health facility levels among others, “ Adewole said.
The minister said that a well-coordinated programme involving all major implementers in the country would help solve the challenges.
He said, “Also, surmounting these challenges would require improving the implementation of the programme that will ultimately serve as good practice for other countries.”
Also speaking, a Consultant Haematologist, Prof. Sulaiman Akanmu said that regular monitoring of drug resistance mutations in form of studies carried out by institutions would help inform policies.
“The studies about drug resistance is key and any institution offering anti-retroviral therapy must expect that resistance will naturally evolve.
“We must anticipate it and put measures in place to ensure that we are able to contain it.
“Why the research is key is the fact that, unlike elsewhere, before you put a patient to anti-retroviral therapy, drug resistance testing is done to know what type of drugs the individual is sensitive to before applying the drug.
“That is not feasible in our situation; we really need to give it a public approach system in the sense that we will have to find out what is the common form of resistance that occurs in our patients.
“We use the report of the resistance testing study to inform policy on what we should consider as first line drug, second line drug and how we should manage what we call third line regimen.
“That is the reason why you must be able to do drug resistance testing,” he said.
Also, a Senior Virologist, Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria, Dr Nicaise Ndembi, said there was the need to design surveys where studies in a large scale can provide evidence-driven interventions.
Ndembi however said that the country lacked data that showed the problem of transmitted resistance.
“Basically, the concept is that if you have more exposure to anti-retroviral therapy, the virus will select resistant mutations.
“Thus, the reason why we should worry as a nation is that as we have more people being placed on treatment, we have more resistance, “
“ We need more research studies to be able to know the magnitude of the problem, “ he said.
In her remarks, a Consultant in Public Health, Prof. Phyllis Kanki, identified high cost of laboratory test, lack of patience to treatment by the patients as some challenges facing HIV treatment in the country.
“All the laboratory tests have a certain cost, that is one of the challenges and the other challenge is even though the therapy works pretty well it is still life long.
“So you have to have patience and the healthcare system be ready to support a patient for many years.
“And patients may have issues with taking the drugs, they may want to stop which can be a problem for them, “she said.
Health
Taraba Confirms Lassa Fever Outbreak
The authorities in Taraba State Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed the outbreak of Lassa Fever in the State.
Making the confirmation in an interview, State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Gbangsheya Buma disclosed that out of the nine suspected cases that were recorded last Friday, eight turned out positive for the viral haemorrhagic fever.
Buma stated that the state Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation in collaboration with the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, and the Federal Medical Center, Jalingo, FMC, authorities to contain the spread of the disease.
“It is not a surprising thing, this is the season, and we have made preparations, though the outbreak may be overwhelming.
“I just received support from NCDC; they have sent some people here to provide technical support with the aim of stopping the progress of the disease.
“We are actually on top of it. We have provided support as a state to the FMC to provide free treatment to patients of Lassa fever,” he said.
Acting Head of Clinical Services at FMC Jalingo, Joseph Kuni, provided further insight on the outbreak, revealing that the center currently has ten patients in its isolation ward, with some awaiting test results.
Kuni said, “From January to February, the center had recorded 19 deaths from the isolation center.
“From January to February, we sent 105 samples, and 60 of them came out positive for Lassa Fever while 39 came out negative. The remaining ones are still being awaited.”
He explained that due to a fire outbreak that affected the modular laboratory last year, the center cannot perform tests locally, so they send samples to Bauchi or Abuja for testing.
Additionally, Kuni confirmed that one medical doctor from the hospital was affected but has since been treated and discharged.
Kuni emphasised the need for more assistance considering the alarming number of cases, particularly from the central part of the state.
Warning that Lassa Fever is endemic in Nigeria, Kuni said with sporadic outbreaks occurring primarily during the dry season, and it is transmitted to humans through contact with contaminated food or household items.
Health
Experts Warn On Excess Consumption Of Sweetened Beverages
Drinking two litres or more per week of artificially sweetened beverages — the equivalent of a medium-sized fast-food diet soda a day — raises the risk of an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation by 20 percent when compared to people who drank none, a new study found.
Known as A-fib, atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat often described by many people who have it as a “quiver,” “flutter” or “flip-flop” of the heart in the chest.
Drinking a similar number of added-sugar beverages raised the risk of the condition by 10 percent, while drinking about four ounces of pure, unsweetened juices, such as orange or vegetable juice, was associated with an 8 percent lower risk of atrial fibrillation, the study found.
“This is the first study to report an association between no- and low-calorie sweeteners and also sugar-sweetened beverages and increased risk of atrial fibrillation,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor emeritus of nutritional sciences at the Pennsylvania State University, in a statement. She was not involved in the new study.
While the study could only show an association between sweetened drinks and A-fib, the relationship remained after accounting for any genetic susceptibility to the condition. A 2017 study found people with European ancestry had about a 22 percent risk of inheriting the condition.
This heart condition may affect one in four women after menopause, the study further reveals”We still need more research on these beverages to confirm these findings and to fully understand all the health consequences on heart disease and other health conditions,” Kris-Etherton said.
“In the meantime, water is the best choice, and, based on this study, no- and low-calorie sweetened beverages should be limited or avoided,” she added.
Atrial fibrillation is dangerous and on the rise and is the leading cause of stroke in the United States. In addition, strokes connected to A-fib tend to be “more severe than strokes with other underlying causes,” according to the united states centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Atrial fibrillation can also lead to blood clots, heart failure and “can increase the risk for heart attack, for dementia, for kidney disease. All of those things are likely long term risks,” Dr. Gregory Marcus, Professor of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and associate chief of cardiology for research at UCSF Health, told The Tide’s in an interview.
Health
Ogun Seals College’s Nursing Department Over Illegal Operations
The Nursing Department of the Harvarde College of Science Business and Management Studies in Abeokuta has been shut.
The department was sealed yesterday for operating without accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).
The enforcement team comprised officials of enforcement team of the Ogun Ministry of Health and members of the State Nursing and Midwifery Committee (SNMC).
Speaking during the enforcement exercise, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun Ministry of Health, Dr Kayode Oladehinde, said that the private institution had been offering a degree programme in Nursing Sciences.
He added that this had been going on for about six years without accreditation from the regulatory body.
Oladehinde, represented by the Acting Director of Nursing Services, Mrs Serifat Aminu, said that such unauthorised programme contributed to quackery in nursing and posed a threat to public health.
According to him, the nursing department of the institution will remain sealed until fully accredited.
He described a degree in Nursing obtained from Harvarde College and similar institutions without NMCN accreditation as worthless, stating that graduates would be unable to obtain a valid license to practice in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
“We have discovered that many institutions, including Harvarde College, offer nursing degrees to unsuspecting students.
“Our mission is to clamp down on such institutions because they end up producing quacks in the nursing profession.
“This is dangerous for society. Unfortunately, most students are unaware that their time is being wasted,” he said.
The permanent secretary advised parents and candidates desiring to pursue nursing or related programmes to conduct due diligence by checking the NMCN website for a list of accredited institutions, saying the regulatory body updated the list yearly.
He warned parents to be cautious of institutions making false claims, assuring that the Ogun government would continue to work diligently against quackery in both the education and practice of the nursing profession in the state.
Responding, a 300-level student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed shock at the institution’s lack of accreditation, regretting the amount of money her parents had spent on the
-
Politics4 days ago
How Social Media Threatened My 40-Year-Old Marriage -Lai Mohammed
-
News4 days ago
We May Shut Down Universities Indefinitely, Non- Teaching Staff Threaten
-
Sports2 days ago
Immediate Relegation Awaits Man City, If…
-
Politics2 days ago
FEC Approves 10% Appointments For Youths
-
Politics2 hours ago
Tinubu Congratulates Senegal President-Elect Over Electoral Victory
-
Oil & Energy4 days ago
Africa’s Energy Leap From Fossil Fuels To Renewable Powerhouse
-
Sports4 days ago
All African Games: Nigeria Finishes Second On Medal Table
-
Rivers4 days ago
RSLCSC Boss Celebrates Fubara’s Supreme Court Victory