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The recently identified COVID-19 variant has stealthily spread to two continents, according to a new study. The variant, named B.1.620, according to data from across Europe, hosts a suite of mutations that have been linked to increased transmissibility and the ability to escape the immune response.
As reported by Nature, multiple travelers carried the new variant from Central Africa to Europe, where it has now spread to at least a dozen countries.The report noted that the variant was first detected in April in viral samples from Lithuania. “After noticing it, Gytis Dudas at the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre in Sweden and colleagues analysed SARS-CoV-2 genomic data from across the globe and found that B.1.620 had suddenly appeared in European samples in February.
A retired Director of Nutrition Services, Dr. James Oloyede, says that taking more than five cups of black tea a day may lead to caffeine-related health problems. Oloyede says this is because black tea also contains caffeine, just like coffee.
According to a study published online in ResearchGate, a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers, tea, next to water is the cheapest beverage humans consume. The study, co-authored by Hasan Mukhtar of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, notes that drinking the beverage tea has been considered a health-promoting habit since ancient times.
Frequent lack of proper sleep can increase risk of dying from stroke, heart attack -Study
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A consultant cardiologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Dr. Ramon Moronkola, says sleep deprivation and disrupted sleep patterns can be linked to strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular disorders.
Speaking in an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, Moronkola said that even people who have obstructive sleep apnea and poor sleep can be at risk of developing stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Moronkola spoke against the backdrop of a 2021 study published in the European Heart Journal showing that Nocturnal Arousal Burden is associated with long-term cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in women and, to a lesser extent, in men.
COVID-19: J&J Vaccine May Arrive Nigeria in August As Indian Variant Worsens
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Nigeria may have to wait till August to receive the 29.5 million doses of Johnson & Johnson it is expecting through the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Trust even as the COVID-19 pandemic in India has continued to affect the worldwide supply of vaccines, Saturday NAN has learnt.
The Federal Government had last week released N29.1bn for the purchase of Johnson & Johnson vaccines through the AVAT initiative coordinated by the Afreximbank. The move was expected to alleviate the effect of the scarcity of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines caused by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
Nigeria’s biggest challenge is vaccinating as many people as quickly as possible — NCDC DG
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Recently, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, confirmed the existence of the B.1.671 variant of the COVID-19 virus (first detected in India) in Nigeria.The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, gives insight into the development and other related aspects of the National response to the pandemic. Exerpts:
New variant
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has been working very hard with its partners to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on Nigerians. It is unfair to label the new variant “Indian variant” because it was detected first in that country.
Even with COVID-19, certain conditions are better managed through face-to-face consultation -Physicians
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Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, medical experts say face-to-face medical consultation is still crucial in healthcare delivery, especially in the management of certain health conditions. According to them, seeing patients face-to-face helps many of them to articulate their health concerns better than consultations via telephone, video or emails.
Though the outbreak of COVID-19 has reduced face-to-face consultation and increased telemedicine in some cases, the experts say most patients and physicians feel more comfortable having one-on-one discussion.
NAFDAC gives conditional approval for usage of Janssen’s J&J COVID-19 Vaccine
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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has given conditional approval for use of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria.
The conditional emergency use authorization of the vaccine, according to the agency’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Tuesday, came after a thorough evaluation of the product. Adeyeye said after the evaluation, NAFDAC Vaccine Committee concluded that the data on the vaccine were robust and met the required standard for use in the country.
Do benefit-risk analysis before giving Janssen/J&J COVID-19 vaccine, WHO warns
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The World Health Organisation has advised countries to assess the benefits and risks of the newly approved Janssen COVID-19 vaccine before administering it on their populations.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control on Tuesday approved the Janssen vaccine for the management of COVID-19 in the country; even as Johnson & Johnson had announced same day that it was collaborating with Telangana, India-based Biological E to produce the ‘Janssen/J&J COVID-19 vaccine’ in India.
Eating good foods will boost your immune system against infectious diseases
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Nutrition and health experts have underscored the importance of nutrition in boosting immune systems to fight infectious diseases and viruses like the COVID-19.The experts said this on Wednesday at a webinar on the maiden Dairy Day, with the theme ‘Dairy nourishment to support healthy living.’
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event was initiated to raise awareness about the nutritious value of dairy products and how daily consumption can help in achieving optimal health.
National Assembly raises concern over Nigeria’s high death rates
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The National Assembly on Thursday says that Nigeria’s mortality indices remain extremely high despite the huge resources sunk into the health sector over the years by government at all levels. The federal parliament accordingly called for prioritisation of health security in the country on the template of the Universal Health Coverage.
The nation’s apex legislative institution expressed the fear that health security in the country will continue to be a mirage if the Federal Government continues to hold on exclusively to the National Health Insurance Scheme.
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A Specialist Registrar and Associate Fellow in Anaesthesia & Critical Care at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Dr. Julian Ojebo, says if left untreated, fat necrosis can become gangrenous and lead to death. Ojebo, however, said that, for some people, fat necrosis can dissolve without any treatment.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, he said that fat necrosis usually occurs when there are surgeries that have to do with soft tissues such as aesthetic surgeries like tummy tuck, breast lift, breast augmentation, breast reduction, thigh reduction, mother-arm fat reduction, and Brazilian butt lift.
As cervical cancer rates drop, other HPV cancers rise, study finds
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Cervical cancer rates have dropped one percent annually since 2001, likely due to clear screening and HPV vaccination guidelines, while other HPV-related cancers without standardised screening guidelines are on the rise, according to research set to be presented at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
The finding was published online by the Becker’s Hospital Review — a hospital magazine for hospital business news and analysis for hospital and healthcare system executives.
‘Suturing after episiotomy is corrective repair, not vagina tightening for male sexual pleasure’
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Maternal and child health experts say that, contrary to erroneous belief among some people, suturing of the vagina after an episiotomy is a corrective repair and not a cosmetic surgery to tighten the vagina for male sexual pleasure. The experts warn physicians to abstain from unprofessional practice of sewing up women too tightly in the name of post-episiotomy suturing.
The experts say that it is wrong and inappropriate for healthcare workers to suture a woman tightly after an episiotomy, considering that the incision is generally between three and four centimeters in length.
‘Patients have right to know names of drugs prescribed by doctor and likely side effects’
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Medical experts have said that it is wrong and totally unacceptable for doctors not to tell their patients the name of the medications prescribed for patients or what the drugs are expected to treat.
According to the physicians who spoke with PUNCH HealthWise, a doctor has a responsibility to tell the patient the name of the drug and the side effects, if any. Speaking in an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, a Public Health Physician, Dr. Austine Aipoh, urged doctors to be open to their patients, stressing that the age of hiding things from patients is over.
