Depression Leads To Illness,Disabilities

Ahead of the World Health Day (WHD) 2017 on Friday, April 7, 2017, depression has been identified as the leading cause of ill-health and disability worldwide with more than 300 million people now living with condition, an increase of more than 18 per cent between 2005 and 2015.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its latest estimates released over the weekend said lack of support for people with mental disorders, coupled with a fear of stigma, prevent many from accessing the treatment they need to live healthy, productive lives.
WHO also identified strong links between depression and other non-communicable disorders and diseases. It noted that depression increases the risk of substance use disorders and diseases such as diabetes and heart disease; the opposite is also true, meaning that people with these other conditions have a higher risk of depression.
According to the health organisation, depression is also an important risk factor for suicide, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year. It said increased investment is also needed because in many countries, there is no, or very little support available for people with mental health disorders.
Depression is a common mental illness characterized by persistent sadness and a loss of interest in activities that people normally enjoy, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities, for 14 days or longer.
In addition, people with depression normally have several of the following: a loss of energy; a change in appetite; sleeping more or less; anxiety; reduced concentration; indecisiveness; restlessness; feelings of worthlessness, guilt, or hopelessness; and thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
The high point in WHO’s year-long campaign, WHD, is “Depression: Let’s talk”. The overall goal of the campaign is that more people with depression, everywhere in the world, both seek and get help.
WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, said: “These new figures are a wake-up call for all countries to re-think their approaches to mental health and to treat it with the urgency that it deserves.”
Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO, Dr. Shekhar Saxena, said one of the first steps is to address issues around prejudice and discrimination.
“The continuing stigma associated with mental illness was the reason why we decided to name our campaign depression: Let’s talk, “For someone living with depression, talking to a person they trust is often the first step towards treatment and recovery. A better understanding of depression and how it can be treated, while essential, is just the beginning. What needs to follow is sustained scale-up of mental health services accessible to everyone, even the most remote populations in the world,” Saxena said.

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Outbreak Of Meningitis Kills 282 Nigerians Within Weeks

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed the outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis in five states with 282 deaths.
The Chief Executive Officer of the centre, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, yesterday
 in Abuja said that 1,966 suspected cases have been recorded while 109 have been confirmed since the outbreak of the disease in February in the country.
He said that the centre had deployed a response team to the affected states to vaccinate the residents and control further spread of CSM.
According to him, Zamfara has the highest number of confirmed cases of 44, followed by Katsina with 32, Sokoto 19, Kebbi 10 and Niger 4 confirmed cases.
He also said that there is an inter-agency response supporting the states to contain the outbreak through the primary mode of vaccination.
However, Ihekweazu explained that a new strand of meningitis called “stereotype C” has emerged in place of the previous known type “stereotype A”, which has disappeared.
He regretted that there was not yet a commercially available vaccine for this new stereotype “C” meningitis.
“There is a vaccine available but it is not commercially available for the stereotype involved in this specific outbreak and we have to make application to the World Health Organisation for the vaccines.
“Thankfully the vaccines have arrived and we have started vaccination campaign in Zamfara. We are in the process of starting in Sokoto and Kebbi states.
“We continue to advocate for scientists and for the global community to really try and push to develop a vaccine for meningitis `C’, on the other hand, all we can do is prevention,” he said.
Ihekweazu said that prevention and early detection was key to combating the disease, if detected early, it could be treated easily.
He said that the centre was working with the states by supporting and ensuring they have the supplies to combat the disease.
“Meningitis is a tough disease especially during this period and it is associated with over-crowding, understanding the living conditions in the country, people must keep their building ventilated,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to avoid sleeping in overcrowded condition and if a lot of people must sleep together in the same room, the windows and doors must be open to allow enough ventilation.
The chief executive officer assured that the centre would work with state governments in the North West and North Central, where most cases were recorded, to ensure better preparation and avert similar outbreak next year.

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Deaths By Heat Waves To Rise - Experts Warn

A new study has reported that deaths related to extreme heat are expected to keep rising, even if most nations are able to contain global warming at agreed-upon levels. The new study was published March 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This has made experts in the country to warn that Nigerians should prepare for more deadly heat from climate change, which could lead to rise in cases of illness and death. Already, meningitis which is heat-related has killed 211 persons and affected 1,407 others within three months.
The researchers warned that by 2050, more than 350 million people living in ‘megacities’ would be hit with deadly heat waves every year – regardless if nations reach climate change targets.

The new study has found that even if countries limit global warming to below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2C), which is required by the Paris Agreement, 44 of the most populated cities in the world will still experience the lethal events.The analysis showed that not only has the number of megacities experiencing heat waves doubled,it has occurred with only 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5C) of warming. Lead researcher and an applied climatologist at Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom, Tom Matthews, said: “As the climate warms, the number and intensity of heat waves increases. Research has shown this to be the case for the global warming experienced to date, and our research is the latest to show that we can expect even larger increases as the climate continues to warm.”
Even if global warming is halted at Paris goals, the megacities of Karachi (Pakistan) and Kolkata (India) could face annual conditions similar to the deadly heat waves that gripped those regions in 2015.During the 2015 heat waves in those areas, about 1,200 people died in Pakistan and more than 2,000 died in India.
To examine the impact of global warming on human heat stress, the researchers used climate models and looked at how global temperature change could affect heat stress projections in the world’s largest cities.
The investigators concluded that it is likely there will be more land surface area exposed to dangerous heat stress. They also noted that areas already experiencing heat stress would have more frequent and longer heat waves.
The researchers at Climate Central explain that when temperatures reach those experienced on ‘danger days’ – when the ‘feels like temperature exceeds 104 °F (40 °C) – it becomes difficult for the body to cool itself. This can lead to dehydration, exhaustion, dizziness, and other problems in the body – and often, even death.
During danger days, people are at risk of sunstroke and heat exhaustion, and physical activity or extended time outdoors could even lead to heat stroke. The combination of high heat and humidity poses serious risks to many people, especially infants and young children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions.
The Paris Agreement was passed with no objections in 2015 by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, bringing to an end four years of discussions and debates.
Nearly 200 nations adopted the global pact, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution – but imposing no sanctions on countries that don’t.
Countries that signed the 31-page document will be expected to work towards limiting global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2C) above pre-industrial levels.

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Breast Milk Does Not Have Long Term Cognitive Effect - New Research

It has long been thought that breastfeeding improves a baby’s mental capacity; a newly released study has found it has no long-term cognitive benefits.
According to the findings of the study published in the journal ‘Pediatrics,’ after following breastfed childrens from the time they were nine months old to age five, researchers found that children who were breastfed for at least six months had reduced hyperactivity and showed better problem-solving skills when they were three years old. When the children were evaluated again at age five the differences were insignificant. Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the feeding of babies and young child with milk from a woman’s breast.
Health professionals recommend that breastfeeding begin within the first hour of a baby’s life and continue as often and as much as the baby wants.
The Newsweek published that the scientists followed 7,478 Irish babies and tested their vocabulary and problem-solving abilities when they were three years old and again when they turned five.
The report said although, children who came from more educated families or better financial circumstances, reported higher problem-solving skills and vocabulary during the study, when those variables were removed and the data was randomised, breastfeeding had no real impact on a child’s development, said study author, Lisa-Christine Girard. Although, intelligence may not be affected by breastfeeding, breast milk has been proven to be beneficial in preventing a variety of health risks – while formula feeding has been linked to increased childhood infections, inflammation, weakened immune function and higher chances of respiratory infections. In the United States, 81.1 per cent of infants born in 2013 were breastfeeding at six months while 30.7 per cent of babies were breastfeeding at 12 months, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

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Anxiety As Poisonous Beans Circulate Lagos Market

There is a growing anxiety among consumers of beans in Lagos, Nigeria, as the Lagos State police command has arrested three brothers at Alagbado area of Lagos for applying insecticide on bags of beans meant to be sold to the public. The suspects, who were paraded on Wednesday, said they learnt the practice from their suppliers in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Faith Ogbonna, who is the owner of the shop, said he had seen beans sellers in Maiduguri using chemicals as preservative for beans.
Although he claimed he was not the one who instructed his younger brother, Chijoke to apply insecticide on the beans, he, however, claimed that it helped to prevent stored beans from being infested by ants.

Policemen attached to Alakuko Division following a tip-off arrested Faith, 28, Sunday, 23 and Chijoke Ogbonna.

On his part, the suspect caught in the act, Chijoke, admitted to have applied the chemical and insecticide. “I only added a little amount. It is to preserve beans. Several persons do it. It does not kill because any beans sprayed are not immediately displayed for sale.
“People who buy several bags of beans, particularly when it is cheap, use chemicals to preserve them till the price goes up, thereby making much profit”.
 Insecticides and pesticides, according to health authorities, are dangerous to health. Not only are they dangerous to the environment, but they are also hazardous to a person's health. Pesticides are stored in your colon, where they slowly but surely poison the body. You may not realize this, but when you are eating a non-organic apple or food items like beans, corn and peanuts that has been contaminated with insecticides, you are also eating over 30 different pesticides that have been sprayed on them. Even if you wash a piece of fruit, such as an apple, there are still many insecticides lingering on it and they could have seeped into the fruit or vegetable. Strawberries, apples, carrots, celery, spinach, grapes, apples, cucumbers are just a few types of food that you should not eat if they are not organic because the insecticide level is the highest on them.
After countless studies, insecticides have been linked to cancer, Alzheimer's Disease, ADHD, and even birth defects. insecticides also have the potential to harm the nervous system, the reproductive system, and the endocrine system. insecticides can even be very harmful to fetuses because the chemicals can pass from the mother during pregnancy or if a woman nurses her child. Although one piece of fruit with insecticides won't kill you, if they build up in your body, they can be potentially detrimental to your health and should be avoided as much as possible.

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Breast Implants Can Cause Blood Cancer - New Studty

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday affirmed that breast implants can cause a rare and hard-to-treat blood cancer. According to landmark guidelines issued by the FDA, there was enough evidence for United States regulators to acknowledge a clear link between silicone implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a blood cancer.
The federal agency issued the guidelines after it received reports from 359 women claiming a link between their implants and their diagnosis of ALCL, a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphoma except Hodgkin’s lymphomas. As of February 1, 2017, nine of those women had died.
Silicone gel-filled breast implants have a silicone outer shell that is filled with silicone gel. They come in different sizes and have either smooth or textured shells.
Silicone gel-filled breast implants are approved for breast augmentation in women aged 22 or older and for breast reconstruction in women of any age.
A breast implant is a prosthesis used to change the size, shape, and contour of a woman’s breast, for reconstructive plastic surgery, post-mastectomy breast reconstruction, congenital defects, among others.
The ‘mailonline’ reports that the FDA update marks something of a triumph for US medical researchers, six years after the World Health Organisation (WHO) first warned of the potential link. Last year, French regulators became the first to acknowledge the ‘clearly established link,’ ordering manufacturers to prove the safety of their products or take them off the shelf.
The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency was still analysing the French and American reports and was yet to acknowledge the ‘clearly established link.’
“All of the information to date suggests that women with breast implants have a very low but increased risk of developing ALCL compared to women who do not have breast implants,” the FDA said yesterday.
“Most cases of breast implant-associated ALCL are treated by removal of the implant and the capsule surrounding the implant and some cases have been treated by chemotherapy and radiation,” it said. Breast implants approved in the US can be filled with either saline or with silicone gel. They come in different sizes and shapes and have either smooth or textured surfaces (shells).

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