There Is No Ebola Case In Nigeria - FG Assures

The Federal Government has called on Nigerians to disregard rumour of a positive case of Ebola Virus Disease in the country, saying that effort had been heightened at the various ports of entry into the country to ensure that sick people making coming into Nigeria were properly screened.

Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda have witnessed a resurgence of the virus in their countries lately, with Ugandan Ministry of Health announcing on June 11, 2019 the first cross-border cases in the current outbreak.

 

In a statement signed by the Director, Media and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health, Boade Akinola, the Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Abdullaziz Abdullahi, stated that in line with the World Health Organisation guidelines, a recent risk assessment conducted by the Nigeria Ebola Preparedness team indicated that the overall risk of importation of Ebola virus to Nigeria from Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was low.

He also described as false, an alleged message circulating in the social media purporting a positive case of Ebola Virus Disease in the country.

The Permanent Secretary also called on members of the public to discourage the circulation of any unverified information, which he said, could cause harm to innocent people and unnecessary panic among the citizens.

Abdullahi said, “FG (has) assured (citizens) that since the reports of outbreak of EVD in the Democratic Republic of Congo, heightened surveillance had been on-going at the various points of entry by officials of the Port Health Services division of the ministry to prevent importation into Nigeria. To this effect, every sick passenger has been properly screened and I can say categorically that none of the patients screened has tested positive for Ebola or any deadly disease.

“In line with WHO’s guidelines, a recent preliminary risk assessment conducted by the Nigeria Ebola Preparedness team, coordinated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control indicated that the overall risk of importation of EVD to Nigeria from Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is low, but we are not resting on our oars in view of trading activities of Nigerians.

“The Nigerian government remain fully committed while working closely with the WHO, state ministries of health, partners and all other stakeholders, to protect the health of all Nigerians. However, necessary protocols are being followed in line with international Health Regulations.”

Read More

Rising Suicide Cases In Nigeria: NAFDAC Bans Production Of Smaller Packs Of Sniper, Other Chemicals

In a bid to control suicide cases in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Thursday banned the production of smaller packs of Sniper and other harmful agro-chemicals. 

Disclosing this on Thursday, Dr Husman Bukar, the Director, Veterinary Medicine and Allied Products Directorate, NAFDAC, opined that the products is dangerous to the applicators and the environment they are applied. 

He announced stricter measures to curtail the use of Sniper (Dichlorvos or 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate) in homes to end the abuse of the pesticide which in recent times has been associated with suicides in Nigeria. 

His words, “Recently, some suicide cases have been associated with people drinking Sniper, henceforth, we call on the agro-chemical industry to enhance their distribution channels so that this product (Sniper) gets to only accredited distributors and marketers.

“We have also placed a ban on the manufacture of smaller packs of Sniper which are easily purchased for household use. “On the use of glyphosate by farmers, NAFDAC has placed a ban on glyphosate-based formulations with tallow-amine (an emulsifier and wetting agent for agrochemical formulations. 

Criminal laws: Our challenges are peculiar, requires a shift – Adeniji Kazeem(Opens in a new browser tab) “Agrochemical companies have been given the grace period of between now and December 2019 to withdraw all glyphosate formulations with tallow-amine from the Nigerian market,” he said. 

Also speaking, Mr Shanni Srivastava, the UPL Country Manager, said his company was working towards ensuring that only safer and environmentally friendly herbicides are introduced in the Nigerian market for the benefit of farmers. 

He said the debut of Lifeline was to offer a better and safer alternative to paraquat which in several countries in Africa had been banned.”

Read More

Why Shea Butter Soothes Aching Knees

Shea butter is not only great for the skin; it is a great remedy for an aching knee. It significantly relieves the joint pain, stiffness and reduced mobility associated with knee osteoarthritis.

In a clinical trial of shea butter in 34 persons with osteoarthritis, researchers found it caused an improvement in functionality of the knees by 30 per cent after 16 weeks of its application. Also, there was a significant reduction in the level of pain and stiffness experienced.

These were volunteers recruited from the outpatient department of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.

Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is the leading cause of chronic disability. It most commonly affects the knee and has an impact on the health-related quality of life of the elderly. Its symptoms may include joint pain, tenderness over the inside of knee, stiffness, locking, reduced mobility, atrophy of lower extremities, and decreased walking speed.

A lot of arthritis sufferers very often turn to natural herbal remedies and botanical methods to gain release from their symptoms. Remedies that have shown some promise in helping to treat the symptoms of arthritis include shea butter.

The researchers, in the 2013 study published in the journal, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, stated that the observed relief in symptom and improved muscle control was consistent with past findings on the analgesic effect of the shea nut oil extract.

That the symptoms and muscle functions are improved significantly after 16-week intervention butter, they linked to shea butter constituents causing a reduction in the inflammatory effects of osteoarthritis.

The inflammatory process which is associated with arthritis occurs in response to a range of injuries from sunburn and wounds, to infection and auto-immune conditions. It is characterised by four physical signs; warmth, redness, swelling, and pain.

However, that improvement in symptoms did not immediately manifest in the activities of daily living; they stated was perhaps due to individuals habitual compensative strategies to cope with pain.

“Although improved muscle function was observed, including greater control and an increase in muscle strength to achieve a functional goal, the subjective feeling of improvement in the activities of daily living was not significant.

“The findings have proven the efficacy of shea nut oil extract as a complementary option to improve the symptoms and function in relation to knee osteoarthritis,” they declared.

The soothing properties of shea butter, commonly referred to as Ori in Yoruba, are well known on the African subcontinent where it grows in its Savannah belt.

 It had anecdotally been used to help alleviate symptoms of arthritis and rheumatism when it is rubbed on the aching joint but its mechanism has not been clear. Also, laboratory studies have shown that the shea butter extract has properties that should make it an effective agent to treat arthritis.

There are many remedies that have shown some promise in helping to treat the symptoms of arthritis. For instance, a survey of anti-arthritic remedies used in Igbo tribal ethnomedicine in Nigeria named three plants. These are Lonchocarpus cyanescens, Costus afar and Terminalia ivorensis.

Clinical investigations on these herbs, according to a report in the 1982 edition of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology revealed that extracts of these herbs reduced inflammation and the associated swelling, checked diarrhoea, and ameliorated all signs associated with arthritis in rats.

 Lonchocarpus cyanescens is known as ‘elu’ in Yoruba, ‘anunu’ in Ibo, ‘talaki’ in Hausa, ‘suru’ in Tiv and ‘ebelu’ in Edo languages of Nigeria. Costus afar is commonly referred to as ginger lily/bush cane while Terminalia ivorensis is commonly called idigbo, black afara, framire or emeri.

Ginger is very effective in the treatment of arthritis and a host of other ailments. Recent medical research in Holland has indicated that this, too, is much more than just myth. Eating ginger does, according to the Dutch doctors, help alleviate arthritis pain.

In one study, Indian researchers gave three to seven grammes of ginger a day to 18 people with osteoarthritis and 28 with rheumatoid arthritis. More than 75 per cent of those participating in the study reported at least some relief from pain and swelling. Even after more than two years of taking these high doses of ginger, none of the people reported side effects.

Read More

Low Vitamin K May Reduce Mobility In Older Adults

Older adults with insufficient vitamin K are likely to be at higher risk for mobility disability, according to new research.

Dietary sources of vitamin K include kale, spinach, broccoli, and other leafy greens. Some dairy foods also contain vitamin K.

The investigators who carried out the study say that their findings "suggest vitamin K may be involved in the disablement process in older age."

They describe their work in a paper that features in a recent issue of The Journals of Gerontology: Series A.

Previous studies have established links between vitamin K and long-term conditions that can raise the risk of mobility disability. These conditions include cardiovascular disease and osteoarthritis.

However, none of those earlier investigations had examined the relationship between vitamin K and mobility disability directly.

M. Kyla Shea is the new study's first and corresponding author. She researches Vitamin K at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, MA.

Shea explains that: "Low vitamin K status has been associated with the onset of chronic diseases that lead to disability, but the work to understand this connection is in its infancy."

She and her colleagues believe that they are the first to evaluate the relationship between "vitamin K status and incident mobility disability" in older adults.

The new evidence builds on earlier studies that have associated low levels of circulating vitamin K with "slower gait speed and a higher risk of osteoarthritis," Shea explains.

Mobility is fundamental to healthy aging

Researchers typically define mobility as the "ability to move independently" from one place to another.

Physical independence is integral to healthy aging and older adults' quality of life. From being able to get out of bed to walking and climbing stairs, much of daily activities involve mobility.

Read More

Taking 5,000 Steps Daily Enough To Lower Risk Of Early Death

We have all heard that getting in 10,000 steps every day is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

But a new study suggests you might be able to lower that daily benchmark and take half as many steps.

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, United States (U.S.), found that older women who took just 4,400 steps a day slashed their risk of early death by more than 40 percent.

The mortality rate decreased with more steps taken, before leveling out at around 7,500 steps a day.

The team says the findings can encourage people who want to be less sedentary – but find 10,000 steps to be a daunting number – to get some physical activity into their day.

For the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the team looked at more than 16,700 women between ages 62 and 101 for four years.

The participants’ number of steps were tracked each day with wearable devices.

Researchers found that reaching below half of that ‘magical’ 10,000 number slashed the risk of early death in older women.

Women who reached about 4,400 steps per day were 41 percent less likely to die than women who walked roughly 2,700 steps a day.

Mortality rates continued to decline with more steps before leveling off at around 7,500 steps.

“Taking 10,000 steps a day can sound daunting. But we find that even a modest increase in steps taken is tied to significantly lower mortality in older women,” said co-author, Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor in the department of epidemiology at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

Researchers believe the 10,000 steps a day guideline came from a Japanese company that made a pedometer called Manpo-kei, which translates to ‘10,000 steps meter’.

“Our study adds to a growing understanding of the importance of physical activity for health, clarifies the number of steps related to lower mortality and amplifies the message: Step more – even a little more is helpful.”

So where did this 10,000-step guideline come from? The authors are not sure, but believe it dates back to around 1965 as a marketing strategy in Japan.

Read More

How Eating Dates Can Help Pregnant Women During Delivery - Experts

When it comes to childbirth, there is evidence that something as simple as eating date fruits during pregnancy can also help. Its consumption can make labour and delivery easy, short, and healthy.

Researchers in separate studies suggest that eating date fruits during pregnancy can help ensure an easier labour and birth. All these studies have fairly consistent results.

In one of the studies, women who ate six date fruits a day for the four weeks leading up to their due date had a 77 per cent shorter first stage of labour.

The study, conducted in 2011 and published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, compared 69 women who consumed six date fruits per day prior to their estimated date of delivery to 45 women who consumed none.

In fact, those who consumed dates had an average of 8.5 hours of first stage labour while those who didn’t have an average 15.1 hours of first stage labour.

The women who ate dates were dilated an average of 3.5 cm upon admission, compared to 2 cm in those who didn’t. In addition, 96 per cent of the women who consumed dates went into spontaneous labour and did not have to be induced compared to only 79 per cent of those who didn’t.

Only a small percentage of women who consumed dates needed prostin/oxytocin (28 per cent) compared to those who didn’t consume dates (47 per cent). Also, a smaller percentage of women who consumed dates had their membranes rupture in early labour (17per cent) compared to those who didn’t (40 per cent).

The authors of the study concluded that “the consumption of date fruit in the last four weeks before labour significantly reduced the need for induction and augmentation of labour, and produced a more favourable, but non-significant, delivery outcome.”

Another study in 2014 published in the Journal of Midwifery & Reproductive Health that looked at date consumption in late pregnancy as it relates to cervical ripening found that date fruit caused more effective contractions and better prepared the cervix for delivery.

The clinical trial conducted at Omolbanin Hospital, Mashhad, Iran and performed on 210 women found that women who ate 70 to 75 grammes of dates per day after 37 weeks of pregnancy had 43 per cent lower rates of cesarean section.

Cervical ripening before the onset of labour is an important factor for the prediction of delivery mode. Increased cervical ripeness increases the likelihood of vaginal delivery and decreases the rate of cesarean section

The experimental group consumed date fruit (70 to 75 gr per day) until the onset of labour pain and the control group received routine care.

Mean cervical dilatation was higher in women consuming date fruit, compared to the non-consuming group. Also, date eaters were found to be 55 per cent less likely to use oxytocin to induce labour and 68 per cent more likely to have a successful vaginal delivery after labour induction.

Another study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology which supported all the initial findings concluded that dates consumption during late pregnancy has been shown to positively affect the outcome of labour and delivery without adverse effect on the mother and child.

In this 2017 study, dates consumption reduced the need for labour augmentation with oxytocin but did not expedite the onset of labour.

According to the findings, the researchers suggested that dates consumption in late pregnancy is a safe supplement to be considered as it reduces the need for labour intervention without any adverse effect on the mother and child.

Previously, other researchers demonstrated that date fruit reduces the amount of bleeding compared to oxytocin in the first hour following placental delivery, due to the presence of compounds in date fruit that mimicks the action of oxytocin. This makes date a suitable alternative for oxytocin.

It was also found that the consumption of date fruit increases the pain threshold, helps strengthen the muscles of the womb as well as prepares the womb for the child delivery.

There are numerous varieties of date fruits such as red, black, soft, dry, and more, sold worldwide. Date fruits are highly nutritious as they are high in proteins, fibre and vitamins, which are essential for pregnant women. As dates are rich sources of fibre, they keep the digestive system healthy and treat pregnancy-related constipation.

The iron content reduces bad cholesterol and thus reduces the risk of cardiovascular issues. Dates are a good source of folate. Folate prevents birth defects related to the brain and spinal cord.

Read More