Diseases
Anambra election: We shall move our members to the polling booth – PFN chair
File Photo Ahead of the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State, the Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in the state, Bishop Moses Ezedebego, has declared that as part of efforts being made by PFN to make meaningful contributions to the development, peace and progress of the state, all eligible voters that worship in pentecostal churches across the 326 wards in the State would be at the polling booth to participate in electing the next governor of the State. Bishop Ezedebego made the declaration while addressing a press conference in respect of a 3-day camp meeting involving Christians leaders from across Nigeria and beyond organized by Maximum Impact Leadership Development Centre with a view to addressing the challenges facing Nigeria particularly poor leade...
Research: Nigeria records nearly 30,000 tobacco smoking-related deaths
An Abuja-based Centre for the Study of Economies of Africa (CSEA) has reported that a research it conducted had revealed that 28,876 deaths related to tobacco smoking are recorded annually in Nigeria. Marco Castradori, a research associate with the CSEA, revealed this, on Monday, in Kano, at a report dissemination workshop on the health burden and economic cost of smoking in Nigeria. According to Mr Castradori, the number represents around 16 per cent of deaths from smoking-related diseases and above five per cent of all cases of deaths. “Among the disease analysed, nearly 737,366 events are expected each year, of which 127,859 representing 17 per cent are attributable to cigarette consumption. “In terms of costs, these conditions burden the Nigerian healthcare system with nearly N634 bill...
Tokyo 2021: Japan, medical experts disagree over safe Olympics
Japanese infectious disease specialist Atsuo Hamada wants to see the Olympics happen in Tokyo this summer, but admits if they were being held anywhere else, he’d probably support a cancellation. “Even without the coronavirus pandemic, the Olympics as a mass gathering fosters all sorts of infectious diseases,” Hamada, a professor at Tokyo Medical University, told AFP. With less than six months until the pandemic-postponed Games, organisers say they’re confident the event will be safe. But some medical experts aren’t so sure, and think cancellation is safer. “I do understand the athletes’ sentiments,” said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Britain’s University of Southampton. “But I think from… the global public health point of view, there’s nothing about the Olympic...
NOA advises Nigerians to disregard conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccine
File Photo The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has advised Nigerians to disregard conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines and the various rumours being attributed to them. Director-General of NOA, Garba Abari, gave the advice in a statement, made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday. Abari, while responding to insinuations of the possible use of the vaccines as population control and DNA altering measure, debunked the idea. He said that no vaccine would be allowed into Nigeria or administered to Nigerians without the approval of appropriate authorities. “Whatever vaccine coming into the country must be thoroughly tested and approved by relevant Nigerian authorities,’’ he said. He said the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) as the agency responsib...
Coronavirus: Nigeria now at tipping point – PTF
The Federal Government, yesterday, took stock of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic vis-a-vis the attitude of Nigerians to embracing safety precautions, and concluded that the country was now at a tipping point. This came as government announced its decision to establish oxygen plants in all states of the federation as part of measures to resolve the “oxygen crisis” that had engulfed some of the isolation and treatment centres in the country. Meanwhile, Edo State has recorded 28 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 270, as the state government cautions residents to abide by the precautionary health and safety guidelines. Vanguard, meanwhile, gathered that former vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe and th...
Egypt to probe four coronavirus deaths due to alleged lack of oxygen
Egyptian prosecutors opened an investigation into the deaths on Sunday of at least four coronavirus patients at a public Egyptian hospital, after a video of nurses struggling to keep the patients alive was shared widely on social media. The governor of Sharqia province denied allegations by a relative of one of the patients that the deaths were caused by a lack of oxygen at the government-run intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients. Governor Mamdouh Ghorab said the patients died because they suffered chronic diseases in addition to the virus. The relative, who also filmed the video, offered no immediate evidence to back up their claim that the hospital ran out of oxygen. Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with more than 100 million people, is facing a surge in confirmed v...
UK needs tighter coronavirus rules to avert catastrophe – epidemiologist
Britain’s government needs to bring in tighter coronavirus lockdown rules to avert a fresh wave of deaths from a new strain of the disease, a leading epidemiologist and government adviser warns. Britain reported 41,385 new COVID cases on Monday, the highest number since testing became widely available in the middle of 2020, and English hospitals say they have more COVID patients than during the first wave of the pandemic in April. “We are entering a very dangerous new phase of the pandemic, and we’re going to need decisive early national action to prevent a catastrophe in January and February,” said Andrew Hayward, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London, on Tuesday. More than 71,000 people in Britain have died within 28 days of a positive test for the dis...
Expert: Excess alcohol intake injurious to health
A medical practitioner, Dr Akintunde Ogunfeyimi, has cautioned Nigerians against excessive intake of alcohol especially during the yuletide in order not to cause havoc to their health. Akintunde, the Chief Medical Director of Ondo State Specialist Hospital, Okitipupa, in Okitipupa on Thursday said that excessive alcohol consumption had diverse consequences. He said that people tend to take much alcohol especially during festivities in expression of their happiness and delight, but that such acts pose great health risks. “Series of diseases ranging from hypertension, kidney problem, liver problem, heart-related diseases, accidents and outright death can be the result of drinking too much alcohol and drinks with high alcohol content. “Alcohol can also affect the brains and the person will no...
Wuhan’s coronavirus survivors share lessons one year on
In late 2019, Wuhan businesswoman Duan Ling and her surgeon husband Fang Yushun began to hear snippets in hospital chat groups about a disease emerging in the city’s respiratory wards. Duan didn’t pay much attention at first. Fang had that year returned from a stint studying in the United States, and the pair, both 36-years-old, were planning a family, starting a costly round of fertility treatments. “But as more and more news came, we began to realise this was something different from previous infectious diseases,” said Duan. In just over a month, Fang would become one of the first people in the world to contract what came to be known as COVID-19, which has since infected over 74 million worldwide and killed more than 1.5 million. During the early days of the outbreak, the city’s hospital...
Germany to close most shops from December 16-January 10 – draft proposal
Germany is planning to close most shops from Wednesday until Jan. 10 as it tightens coronavirus restrictions and tries to rein in the spread of the disease, according to a draft government proposal seen by Reuters on Sunday. The draft was prepared head of a meeting later in the day between Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders. She has favoured stricter pan-German measures but was previously unable to get agreement from the nation’s 16 states. However, some states have since clamped down on their own, and momentum supporting stricter harmonized measures has been building. The draft proposal would allow only essential shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies, as well as banks, to remain open. Schools will also be basically closed during the period, and employers will be asked to close...
Firm restates commitment to enhance financial inclusion
Nigeria-based fintech solution, NowNow, has said that it will continue to upgrade its services to attune to current realities, such that will drive economic and social growth. Founder of NowNow, Sahir Berry, while speaking on how COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the financial space recently, mentioned that Nigeria needs to strengthen its fintech space more than before. Berry stated that it was important for Nigeria to tap into the trends and prospects of fintech given the country’s large unbanked or underbanked. He added the company recognised this gap in Nigeria, which informed its investment in the space. “In 2017 we identified that one of the two big problems in Nigeria was lack of youth empowerment and financial inclusion. With a population of almost 100 million youths, we found that ac...
Egypt to probe four coronavirus deaths due to alleged lack of oxygen
Egyptian prosecutors opened an investigation into the deaths on Sunday of at least four coronavirus patients at a public Egyptian hospital, after a video of nurses struggling to keep the patients alive was shared widely on social media. The governor of Sharqia province denied allegations by a relative of one of the patients that the deaths were caused by a lack of oxygen at the government-run intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients. Governor Mamdouh Ghorab said the patients died because they suffered chronic diseases in addition to the virus. The relative, who also filmed the video, offered no immediate evidence to back up their claim that the hospital ran out of oxygen. Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with more than 100 million people, is facing a surge in confirmed v...