Frontpage News (3256)
The United Nations says the continuous destruction of wetlands around the world is a threat to global water availability. According to the UN, prompt proactive global actions are now needed to stop indiscriminate wetland destruction to avert serious global water availability challenge in coming years.
The UN stated this in a post posted on its official Twitter handle @UN on Monday to commemorate the 2021 UN World Wetland Day. The UN World Wetland Day is marked every February 2. It is used to call attention to the challenges facing wetland around the world.
Scientists diagnose prostate cancer using artificial intelligence to analyse urine sample
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A team of scientists from the Biomaterials Research Centre at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the Asan Medical Centre in South Korea has developed a new technique that detects prostate cancer in patients with almost 100 percent accuracy within 20 minutes, using urine sample and artificial intelligence.
The current method of diagnosing prostate cancer, the most common type of cancer in men, is typically invasive if physicians must get a decent accuracy rate. In the study, published December 2020 online in the ACS Nano, the team of scientists developed a technique that diagnosed prostate cancer using urine samples and an artificial intelligence analysis system within 20 minutes.
Experts develop skin patch that delivers COVID-19 vaccine through microneedles
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Researchers at Swansea University in the United Kingdom say they are developing the world’s first smart vaccine device that will both deliver the COVID-19 vaccine and measure its efficacy through monitoring the body’s associated response.
The research, from the Institute for Innovative Materials, Processing and Numerical Technologies, will produce the vaccine through the use of microneedles to create a ‘smart-patch’. This device will simultaneously measure a patient’s inflammatory response to the vaccination by monitoring biomarkers in the skin.
Consider Ivermectin for COVID-19 management, physicians tell Lagos govt
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Two medical practitioners on Thursday called on the Lagos State Government to urgently approve the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19 management. They are a former Chairman, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, Dr. Tunji Akintade; and public health expert, Dr. Femi Ogunremi.
The experts made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Lagos.
Gbagada COVID-19 isolation centre to become fee-paying facility -Sanwo-Olu
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Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu says the Lagos Government is making efforts to transform the state-owned isolation centre in Gbagada into a fee-paying facility that people could elect to be treated at. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Sanwo-Olu made this known on Sunday in a statement in which he updated residents on the management of COVID-19 in the state.
He said that the decision was due to the growing clamour by patients and families that are willing to pay for COVID-19 treatment, but would like to do so at a cost that is lower than what currently obtains in private facilities.
Lagos records 285 AIDS-related deaths, 8,385 new HIV cases in six months
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The Lagos State AIDS Control Agency says an estimated 285 Persons Living With HIV/AIDS died in the first two quarters of 2020. The agency also disclosed that the state recorded about 8,385 fresh infections, with Eti Osa, Epe and Ikeja leading the pack of local governments with the highest prevalence rates.
According to the World Health Organisation, HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having killed almost 33 million people so far. However, with increasing access to effective HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, including for opportunistic infections,
‘Ventilators, surgical interventions for cancer patients converted to COVID-19 treatment’
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A professor of Radiation Medicine at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Prof. Ifeoma Okoye, says the attention being accorded COVID-19 pandemic is robbing cancer patients of access to quality treatment.
Okoye says some oncology facilities, ventilators and other surgical interventions meant for cancer patients have been converted for COVID-19 treatment.
Can holding your breath when people sneeze or cough prevent COVID-19 infection?
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While most experts agree that the risk of catching COVID-19 outdoors is very low, it still does not preclude efforts to maintain non-pharmaceutical protocols of checking COVID-19 spread, such as wearing face masks, avoiding large gathering and maintaining social distancing.
This is because there is still the possibility of getting infected when you come too close to someone who is shedding viral loads through coughing or sneezing.
How Lagos plans to curb brain drain in its hospitals -Commissioner
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Lagos Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, says the state plans to arrest the perennial challenge of brain drain through its proposed Blueprint For Medical Infrastructure Transformation. He described the blueprint as the harmonization and digitization of primary to tertiary institutions in the health sector.
Abayomi made the statement while analysing ‘State of Health Facilities and Vaccine Roll-Out Prospect’ on a live TV interview on Wednesday.
Healthcare Federation urges private participation in vaccine roll out
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The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) has implored the Federal Government to consider harnessing the expertise and resources within the Nigerian private sector for a successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccine in the country. President of HFN, Dr. Pamela Ajayi, who spoke recently on behalf of the Federation appealed to the government to consider the benefits of private sector participation in the enormous task of getting the vaccines to millions of Nigerians that need it.
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Not drinking enough water could cause depression, physician warns
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A General Physician, Dr. Peter Atangwho, on Sunday, said drinking enough water every day was one of the ways to avoid depression. Atangwho, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of TeleMed Online Clinic, told the News Agency of Nigeria, in Awka, that not drinking enough water would result in dehydration, a condition that could affect or damage the human brain.
He described dehydration as the loss of body fluid due to illness, sweating or inadequate water intake, explaining that not drinking enough water can make the brain cells suffer enough to produce symptoms of low mood.
WHO excludes Nigeria, eight others from Pfizer vaccine shortlist
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Nigeria is missing on the list of four countries shortlisted to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines by the World Health Organisation-led COVAX global initiative.
It seems the countries that did not make the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines shortlist were unable to meet the standard requirement of being able to store the vaccines at the required -70 degrees Celsius. A Press briefing addressed by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, on Thursday, stated:
The World Health Organisation, (WHO), yesterday said it has not disqualified Nigeria or any African country from accessing COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility. Rather, it is supporting all countries to access vaccines as quickly as possible.
However, Nigeria has missed out on the first phase of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, as the 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine expected to arrive the country this month has been replaced with 16 million doses of Astrazeneca vaccine.
Cervical cancer: WHO partners NPHCDA to introduce HPV vaccine in Nigeria
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World Health Organisation Country Representative to Nigeria, Walter Mulombo, says the organisation is working with National Primary Health Care Development Agency to introduce Human papillomavirus vaccine into Expanded Programme on Immunisation schedule.
The information is in Mulombo’s message to mark the World Cancer Day on Thursday in Abuja. World Cancer Day is an international day marked on Feb. 4 to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
