Chioma Umeha

Beer drinkers, pregnant women more vulnerable to mosquito bites By: Chioma Umeha A new study has shown why some people are mosquito magnets. Up to 20 percent of people across the world are highly attractive to mosquitoes, the study said. Entomology professor, Dr. Phil Koehler, University of Florida said: “Both your metabolism and your unique body chemistry—which is as distinctive as a fingerprint—play an important role in determining whether or not you are a mosquito magnet. Also, there is evidence that your degree of attractiveness to mosquitoes can change over time.”  Are you one of those who often feel as if every mosquito in a 50-mile radius has you locked in its sights, while your friends are rarely bitten? You could be right. So, there may be scientific reasons of being bitten by a mosquito, while everyone else says they are fine. Scientists have discovered some surprising reasons. “Both your metabolism and your unique body chemistry—which is as distinctive as a fingerp

Five unusual signs of vitamin deficiency By: Chioma Umeha Running Low on Vitamins?  When your body is trying to tell you something—for example, that you’re skimping on critical vitamins—it may go to some strange lengths. “With today’s diet of processed foods, it’s easy to become vitamin-deficient, either by not eating enough of the right foods or not absorbing them properly due to digestive issues,” according to Dr. Susan Blum, the founder of the Blum Center for Health and the author of the new book; The immune system recovery plan. “You may not get a disease, but you can end up with impaired functioning, because vitamins are cofactors for all the biochemical reactions in the body. You need them to function properly.” That impaired functioning can sometimes manifest in mysterious ways. Here are five unusual warning signs that you may be vitamin-deficient. The good news: Most are fixable with dietary tweaks—all the more reason to make nutrition a top priority. But if food cures d

Sugary drinks may cause premature births By: Chioma Umeha Women who drank sugary drinks and sodas during their pregnancies had higher rates of premature births, according to Reuters reports Soon-to-be mothers should take note of the newest research on sodas and sugary drinks. Reuters’ reports confirmed that soda consumption and premature births may be linked.  A study in Norway, which followed 60,000 pregnant women, found that women who drank soda while pregnant were 25 percent more likely to give birth early, compared to those who avoided soda altogether.  Women who drank artificially sweetened beverages (that is: diet sodas) were 11 percent more likely to give birth early as well.  No one’s quite sure what the link is; Dr. Michael Katz of the March of Dimes foundation (which works to help babies’ health) told Reuters that the study didn’t indicate the risk of soda consumption. However, the study did note the strong correlation between soda consumption, pre-term labour, a

Malaria control: Nigeria indicted in N65.2bn spurious spending By: Chioma Umeha National Audit Office (NAO), the UK watchdog, has indicted Nigeria as among the four countries showing spurious spending of £252m, an equivalent of N65. 2 billion, meant for counter-prevention measures of malaria in 18 countries from 2011 to 2012. The indictment is coming on the heels of World Health Organization’s (WHO) warning of a $2.8billon, an equivalent of N700 billion shortfalls in global funding to tackle the disease, regarded as one of the biggest health and economic challenge for countries with high rates of illness. This is even as evidence has shown that the anti-malarial bed nets paid for by the UK are not in adequate use around the world. The UK spent £252million from 2011 to 2012 on counter-prevention measures in 18 countries, 16 of them in Africa.  The budget is expected to rise to £494million from 2014 to 2015, making the UK the third largest global donor. However, the NAO’s repo

Nigeria joins league of 192 dracunculiasis-free countries By: Chioma Umeha Monday, Nigeria will play host to the International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication (ICCDE) of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Their mission is to assess the surveillance and reporting efforts, as well as verify and confirm the claim of the absence of indigenous guinea worm transmission, also known as dracunculiasis, a debilitating parasitic infection that affects people living in remote, poverty-stricken communities.  If Nigeria meets their requirement, the country will join 192 countries and territories, including 180 WHO member states, that have been certified free of dracunculiasis transmission. “As of 1st May 2013, the Commission had certified 192 countries and territories, including 180 WHO member states, as free of dracunculiasis transmission,”  according to a recent report by the World health body. Referred in some local parlance as the “impoverisher,” the gui

Nigeria tops HIV infection chart in sub-Saharan Africa with 60,000 – UN By: Chioma Umeha Nigeria has been identified as number one country in sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest number of children with HIV, recording nearly 60,000 new infections in 2012. A report from the United Nations AIDS programme, on Tuesday, implicated the country as among the seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa where progress has been stalled since 2009.  The report stated that some countries, which were among 21 priority countries in Africa, have witnessed a reduction in the number of new HIV infections in children by 50 percent since 2009. Specifically, the report said there is reduction in the number of new HIV infections in children by 50 percent since 2009 in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s worst-hit region in the global AIDS epidemic. But, it added that Nigeria is one of the two countries where new infections in children have increased and remained unchanged since the review

New date for media merit award entries on guinea worm eradication By: Chioma Umeha The Nigeria Guinea worm Eradication Programme (NIGEP) has announced the extension of deadline by three months, for the submission of entries to the Media Merit Award on guinea worm eradication, to allow more journalists to participate. Entries will now close on September 30, instead of June 30. The award was put in place in April to recognise, honour and reward contributions by Nigerian journalists and their media establishments, in the eradication of guinea worm disease since the campaign began in 1988. The award, in three categories – radio, television and newspaper/online publication, was announced as part of media activities preparatory to the visit of the International Certification Team from the World Health Organisation (WHO).  The team is expected in Nigeria on Sunday, June 23. A statement in Abuja on Sunday by the NIGEP National Coordinator, Mrs Ifeoma Anagbogu, noted that although many