Chioma Umeha

By Chioma Umeha The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to urgently institute a system for screening Zika virus in the country. The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 193rd National Executive Council meeting/annual public health lecture of the association that was concluded on Sunday in Calabar, Cross River State. The communiqué, which was signed by the association’s President and Secretary, Alhaji Toyosi Raheem and Mr. Surajudeen Junaid respectively, urged the government to urgently set up the system for screening of Zika virus among pregnant women in the country. The communiqué said that the call was coming from the information from the World Health Organisation that Zika virus was rapidly spreading to other countries of the world. It read in part, “The association is calling on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency; institute a system for screening of Zika viru

By Chioma Umeha Outraged at the non payment of its December 2015 and January 2016 salaries, the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), is meeting today to determine whether to embark on strike. President of the ARD, LUTH, Dr. Akinkumi Afolabi, revealed in an interview with The Guardian in Lagos, “As we continue to offer services, we are yet to receive our December salaries.” According to Afolabi “We are interpreting this situation to mean that history might be repeating itself as this time last year December 2014 salaries, were paid in March 2015.” The LUTH ARD president, further pointed, “it is a fact that almost all Federal Teaching Hospitals have got December 2015 salary, while a significant number have also received January 2016 salaries.” He said for example, Yaba Psychiatric Hospital has been paid December salary, LUTH is not an island, because we see an anomaly a situation where other federal hospitals hav

By Chioma Umeha Against the backdrop of the raging Lassa fever virus, the Redeemer’s University, (RUN), Ede, Osun State, has developed a test kit known as Pan-Lassa Rapid Diagnostics Test (PL RDT), that enables the testing of urine, faeces and blood samples of humans or multilamellar rats for Lassa fever in 10 minutes. The discovery which also contains molecules that inhibit Lassa fever and a potential vaccine against Lassa fever, is one of the discoveries of the institution’s World-Bank funded African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID). The Vice Chancellor of RUN, Professor Debo Adeyewa, who spoke Weekend, at the unveiling of the new research breakthrough on Lassa Fever, at the university’s Senate Chambers, however, blamed authorities of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), over its policy that denies private universities access to its funds, noting that this hurts Nigeria, particularly in the areas of research and deve

By Chioma Umeha The president of Colombia said Saturday that more than 3,100 pregnant women in the country are infected with the mosquito-borne virus which has been linked to birth defects and has no vaccine or treatment. Reuters reported that President Jaun Manuel Santos pointed out, however, that there has been no recorded cases of Zika-linked microcephaly, the birth defect that involves the fetus’ brain. Meanwhile, Brazilian officials will soon decide whether to amend the South American nation’s rigid procedures for sharing Zika samples, the Cabinet chief’s spokeswoman said Friday, as officials announced that they were sending a set of samples to U.S. researchers amid complaints of hoarding. The developments came on the heels of an Associated Press report earlier this week that revealed that international health officials were frustrated at Brazil’s refusal to share enough viral samples and other information to answer the most worrying question about the

LUTH Doctors Protest Unpaid Salaries, Discriminatory Tax Policy By Chioma Umeha Doctors at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, yesterday, protested unpaid salaries and what they described as “discriminatory tax policy”. At a press conference, the doctors, under the auspices of the Association of Resident Doctors, LUTH-ARD, regretted that, despite the daunting challenges they face in their line of duty, the management of LUTH had failed to recognise their efforts and had continued to delay their salaries. The President of the association, Dr Akinkunmi Afolabi, who said health workers, including doctors in other Federal Government hospitals had been paid, lamented that no official reason had been offered yet for the delay of their salaries for over two months now. According to him, some doctors in LUTH were owed up to four months while some were owed two months. “In a sad replay of   the unfortunate events of December 2014, the Decem

By Chioma Umeha   Scientists are breeding special mosquitoes that can’t carry particular diseases, in an attempt to stop the spread of the Zika virus. The Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes, as are other diseases like dengue fever. But scientists hope that by breeding more mosquitoes they might be able to fight the disease. The virus has been declared a worldwide emergency after it spread rapidly and has been linked to a quickly-growing number of babies being born with abnormally small heads. Zika virus ‘could affect hundreds of thousands of people in Spain’ Thousands of people around the world are helping to breed mosquitoes with a special bacteria that means they are unable to transmit the disease. Those insects could then spread around the world, crowding out the mosquitoes that can carry the disease and helping bring it to an end. Traditionally, health experts warn that people should try and avoid helping mosquitoes to breed as much as they can. But

By Chioma Umeha US health authorities on Friday urged people to use condoms or refrain from sex if they live in or have traveled to areas where the Zika virus is circulating. The new interim guidelines from the US Centers from Disease Control are aimed at pregnant women and their partners, and those of childbearing age who are concerned about Zika, a primarily mosquito-borne virus which has been linked to birth defects. Earlier this week, US health officials confirmed the first case of sexually-transmitted Zika, involving a person who had traveled to Venezuela and infected a sexual partner in Texas upon return. “Men with a pregnant sex partner who reside in or have traveled to an area of active Zika virus transmission and their pregnant sex partners should consistently and correctly use condoms during sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) or abstain from sexual activity for the duration of the pregnancy,” said the CDC. “Consistent and correct use of