Beware Of "abacha"! Cholerah Kills 6 in Lagos

Lagos State Government says it has recorded six deaths from cholera outbreak out of 45 cases in some communities in Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
Dr Jide Idris, the State Commissioner for Health, who made the disclosure on Thursday at a news conference in Lagos, however, was not specific about the timing of the incident.
Idris said that state government was already taking appropriate measures and had contained the outbreak.

According to him, the ministry was notified of an upsurge of diarrhoea diseases in some communities in Isolo LCDA. “Following this, 45 cases were line-listed by the Epidemiology Unit of the ministry.
“Six deaths were recorded among the 45 cases.
“Majority of the cases did not present with the classical rice-water stool, rather they presented with atypical diarrhoea and vomiting.
“Ano-rectal swabs were collected from 15 cases and taken to the Central Public Health Laboratory, Yaba.
“Initially, there were no growths; however, continuous culture yielded Vibro cholerae from seven out of the 15 samples,’’ he said.
The commissioner said that the “Vibrio cholera was later confirmed to be Ogawa strain’’.
He said, “The main suspected source of infection is the salad called `Abacha’, a staple food of the residents of Isolo LCDA and adjourning LGAs/LCDAs.
“Some domestic wells within the communities are also suspected.
“Samples of the `Abacha salad’ and well water were collected and sent to the Lagos State Drug Quality Control Laboratory for analysis.
“The report of the analysis revealed the presence of Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella species and E.coli in `Abacha’ and one of the two well water samples.’’
NAN reports that Cholera “is an acute diarrhoea disease with or without vomiting caused by a bacteria referred to as Vibro cholerae, and it is transmitted through ingestion of food or water contaminated with infective faeces.
“Food or water contamination is usually due to poor sanitation and the source of contamination is usually other cholera cases when their infective watery stool gets into food or drinking water supplies.
“Prevention of cholera can be achieved through basic water sanitation, such as boiling water of unclean sources. Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated.’’

Read More

The Amazing Health Benefits Of Regular Sex

Especially for married couples, the benefits of regular sex may not only be just for procreation and pleasure. According to recent studies, having regular sex has some health benefits. “Sexually active people take fewer sick days,” says Yvonne K. Fulbright, PhD a sexual health expert.

People who have sex have higher levels of what defends your body against germs, viruses, and other intruders. Researchers at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania found that college students who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of a certain antibody compared to students who had sex less often.

You should still do all the other things that make your immune system happy.

Longing for a more lively sex life? “Having sex will make sex better and will improve your libido,” says Lauren Streicher, MD. She is an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

For women, having sex ups vaginal lubrication, blood flow, and elasticity, she says, all of which make sex feel better and help you crave more of it.

A strong pelvic floor is important for avoiding incontinence, something that will affect about 30% of women at some point in their lives.

Good sex is like a workout for your pelvic floor muscles. When you have an orgasm, it causes contractions in those muscles, which strengthens them.

Research suggests a link between sex and lower blood pressure, says Joseph J. Pinzone, MD. He is CEO and medical director of Amai Wellness.

“There have been many studies,” he says. “One landmark study found that sexual intercourse specifically (not masturbation) lowered systolic blood pressure.” That's the first number on your blood pressure test.

 “Sex is a really great form of exercise,” Pinzone says. It won’t replace the treadmill, but it counts for something.

Sex uses about five calories per minute, four more calories than watching TV. It gives you a one-two punch: It bumps up your heart rate and uses various muscles.

  “Like with exercise, consistency helps maximize the benefits,” Pinzone says.

A good sex life is good for your heart. Besides being a great way to raise your heart rate, sex helps keep your estrogen and testosterone levels in balance.

“When either one of those is low you begin to get lots of problems, like osteoporosis and even heart disease,” Pinzone says.

Having sex more often may help. During one study, men who had sex at least twice a week were half as likely to die of heart disease as men who had sex rarely.

  Men who ejaculated frequently (at least 21 times a month) were less likely to get prostate cancer during one study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It's not clear that sex was the only reason that mattered in that study. Lots of factors affect cancer risk. But more sex won’t hurt.

Read More

Cuddling Or Kissing Cat Is Dangerous To Health

Cuddling a kitten, a juvenile cat may be considered a familiar and harmless practice by those who keep such domestic pets always but scientists have announced that it could be dangerous to health. This was the finding of a study published in the journal ‘Emerging Infectious Diseases’.
According to reports, Doctors from Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States (U.S) conducted a large-scale survey of the cat-borne bacterial disease-cat scratch fever. Cat scratch fever, also called cat scratch disease (CSD), is a bacterial infection.
The disease got its name because people contract it from cats infected with ‘Bartonella henselae’ bacteria, one of the most common bacteria in the world. The researchers found the scope and impact of the potentially deadly disease was larger than they thought. The disease causes fever, pustules and in extreme cases, the complications from the illness can cause death.
You can get cat scratch fever from a bite or scratch from an infected cat. You can also get the disease if saliva from an infected cat gets into an open wound on your body or touches the whites of your eyes. Similarly, anyone who owns a cat or interacts with a cat is at risk of contracting cat scratch fever. You have an increased risk of becoming seriously ill from cat scratch fever if you have a weakened immune system as well.
Going by the findings of the study, the doctors have warned that hands should always be washed after touching cats, and to avoid kissing a cat or other members of the cat family where possible. Furthermore, they also advised cat owners to ensure that their pet is protected from fleas. Reacting to the study, Dr. Christina Nelson of the CDC said: “The scope and impact of the disease is a little bit larger than we thought.
Cat-scratch is preventable. If we can identify the populations at risk and the patterns of disease, we can focus on the prevention efforts.” Kittens and strays are more likely to carry the disease. The disease is spread when you are scratched by an infected cat, or when you don’t wash your hands and touch your mouth after stroking an infected cat.

Read More

Imo State Bans Female Circumcision

Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha says  the ancient practice of female circumcision has been outlawed in the state, warning that offenders risk jail terms without an option of fine.
Okorocha, who stated this yesterday, during the official launch of the campaign against  Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) disclosed that a bill to that effect would be passed into law by the state Assembly .
According to him, such barbaric culture, which  is harmful and not beneficial to the people, ought to be abolished, noting that Imo was still one of the  states in the South East where female circumcision was widely practiced.
“ This harmful ancient practice has been outlawed in this state and a bill to put a permanent stop to it will be passed into law very soon and let me warn those who are still indulging in this practice to be ready to go to jail if caught because there would be no option of fine,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the wife of the state governor, Mrs. Nkechi  Okorocha, who initiated the campaign in  collaboration with the United Nations Fund for Population Agency (UNFPA), said women in the state have vowed to put an end to the barbaric practice which is not beneficial to  the girl child.
Mrs. Okorocha further explained that the continual practice of Female Genital Mutilation must be  stamped out in the state, especially in the rural areas, where the practice is prevalent and led to emotional trauma, broken homes and even death.
The  Country Representative of UNFPA,Mrs Beatrice Mukta,  disclosed that the organisation has been campaigning against the practice in most African Countries where the practice still subsist.
She commended the wife of the governor for her relentless fight against FGM, noting that the battle against the ancient practice which is steeped in cultural myth may not be an easy one.  she appealed to traditional institutions as well as women in the state to support the campaign.
Mrs. Okorocha had kick started the campaign against FGM/ Cutting with a protest match in which over 500 female students drawn from various schools in the state and women  participated.

Read More

Nigerian Mothers Do Not Understand Exclusive Breast Feeding - Survey

A survey carried out by Nigeria Natural Health Online www.kimekwu.blogspot.com has shown that most mothers who live in the ghetto parts of Nigerian cities do not understand the importance of exclusive breast feeding despite all the media campaigns being carried out to create awareness to that effect.

Using Lagos as a case study, the survey was carried out amongst mothers residents in suburbs and rural parts of the city including Makoko, Iwaya, Mushin, Ijora, Badagary, Ikorodu and some parts of Alimosho.

Of  the 8,000 respondents who were captured in the survey, 87 percent did not see anything wrong in complementing breast feeding with infant formulas and other foods like pap, tea and mashed yam within the first six months of a child’s life. As high as 92percent believed it is ok to give water to a child within these first six months. Only a paltry 7percent agreed that it is strictly wrong to give water to a child within the first six months.

The survey also revealed that these mothers do not really understand the effect of exclusive breast feeding both for the immediate and the future of the child’s life, especially in the area of mental development. Some of them argued that their children are healthy (even though some of this children did not really look it) despite being given complimentary foods aside from breast milk. The situation becomes even more precarious when considered in the light of the fact that these mothers live in unhygienic environments where there are no access to portable clean water.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has directed that mothers should exclusively breast feed their baby for the first six months of the child’s life after which they could augment with other, semi solid foods.

Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. Review of evidence has shown that, on a population basis, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants. Thereafter infants should receive complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond.

Breast milk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life.
Breast milk promotes sensory and cognitive development, and protects the infant against infectious and chronic diseases. Exclusive breastfeeding reduces infant mortality due to common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea or pneumonia, and helps for a quicker recovery during illness. These effects can be measured in resource-poor and affluent societies.

Commenting on the out come of the reaserch of the Nigeria Natural Health Online, a health provider based in Lagos told our reporter that the authorities should step up the awareness campaign not just in the media. according to him, “I think there should be an experiential approach towards creating awareness on the importance of EBF. There should be an interface with these mothers whereby health workers indoctrinate in them the benefits of EBF.”

Mrs Anyanwu, a traditional birth attendant, (TBA) also toed  the same line when she said: “most mothers who live in the suburb of the city do not really listen to this media campaign. I think health officials, apart from placing adverts in the media, should also go into these communities and have a one on one encounter with them. I think that would create more impact.” Story By JOHNSON OKPUSA OBASI

Read More

The Dangers Of High Cholesterol In Your Diet

During the last festive period, a woman in her middle age developed partial stroke and was admitted in the hospital. She recovered fully but the family felt that the problem might not be stroke since the woman’s blood pressure had never been high and her blood sugar level had always been within the normal range, meaning she was not hypertensive or diabetic.

Her blood sample, which was sent to the lab for investigations, showed elevated blood cholesterol, a condition called hypercholesterolemia. It was later found that high cholesterol was responsible for the first stroke she suffered.

Hypercholesterolemia, or high cholesterol, occurs when there is too much cholesterol in the body. Cholesterol is a soft, waxy, fat-like substance that is a natural component of all the cells in the body. The body makes all the cholesterol it needs. However, added cholesterol, which comes from the foods eaten, may cause harm.

High cholesterol raises the risk for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. When there is too much cholesterol circulating in the blood, it can create sticky deposits (called plaque) along the artery walls. Plaque can eventually narrow or block the flow of blood to the brain, heart, and other organs. Blood cells that get caught on the plaque form clots, which can break loose and completely block blood flow through an artery, causing heart attack or stroke.

While heredity may be a factor for some people, the main culprits are lack of exercise and diets high in saturated fat. High cholesterol can be prevented, sometimes with lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) alone. If these do not work, your therapist may recommend some special fruits and vegetables that are anti-cholestrols. 

In the early stages, there are usually no symptoms of high cholesterol. The only way to tell if the cholesterol is high is through a blood test.

In some cases, high cholesterol levels may be inherited; the liver may make too much cholesterol, or the body may not remove bad cholesterol from the blood efficiently. High cholesterol and elevated triglycerides can also be associated with other diseases, such as diabetes. But often, high cholesterol is caused by eating foods high in saturated fat and not getting enough exercise. High cholesterol is more common in people who are overweight or obese.

 Being overweight or obese, eating a diet high in saturated fat and trans fatty acids (found in processed and fried foods); not getting enough exercise; family history of heart disease; high blood pressure; smoking; and diabetes.

 Most people do not have any symptoms of high cholesterol. A blood test is the only way to check levels of cholesterol in the blood. If the levels are above 200 mg/dL, the doctor will do a fasting lipid profile, a test performed after you abstain from food for nine to 12 hours.

A lipid test generally determines four distinct numbers: total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides. The LDL or low-density lipoprotein and the HDL or high-density lipoprotein are the two fundamental “cholesterol types”. The LDL is known to be negative (bad) when in excess. Therefore, minimising it will be much better. HDL, known to be the positive (good), is better when elevated. In addition, the lipid profile appraises the triglycerides (whole fat in a person’s body). They have an impact on the health in the same manner cholesterol does. At last, the total cholesterol (sum of HDL, LDL and 20 per cent of triglycerides) is integrated as well in the results.

It is important to say at this juncture that people with chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, among others, should have their lipids check periodically.

Have your blood checked today. By JOHNSON OKPUSA OBASI

Read More