Major health stories in the news last week

Akwa Ibom procures N5bn worth of Hospital equipment

Akwa Ibom State government has purchased medical equipment worth N5 billion for Ibom Specialist Hospital to boost healthcare delivery in the state.

Dominic Ukpong, the state’s commissioner for health, disclosed that the state has been paying N400 million quarterly to offset bills for the medical equipment in the hospital.

Mr Ukpong, however, said the hospital was not completed before it was inaugurated in the previous administration.

“We are paying the money now and the hospital had been inaugurated but not yet completed. It was supposed to be ground floor, first, second and third floors.”

Group decries N2,000 monthly HIV drugs fee

The Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) has called on governments to ensure Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is completely free, accessible and without user fee in 2019.

Peter Obialor, the Lagos State coordinator, said his members were currently paying N2, 000 monthly to access the drugs.

The group also requested that treatments should be made available in the nearest facilities closer to People Living with HIV (PLHIV) for easy access.

“The major thing we request from governments this year is to make PLHIV accessing treatment totally free, no user fee and it should be in all the nearest places and facilities for easy accessibility.”

One month alcohol-free boost long-term health

A study by researchers from the University of Sussex in Falmer, UK, shows just how much skipping alcohol for one month can improve your life and concludes that these benefits are long-lasting.

The research, led by Richard de Visser from the University of Sussex, found that people who took part in Dry January in 2018 reported higher energy levels and healthier body weight.

They also felt less need to drink alcohol, even several months after participating in this initiative.

Dry January is an initiative of the charity Organisation Alcohol Change United Kingdom, which encourages people to try giving up alcohol for 1 month at the start of the year.

Diabetes and erectile dysfunction may be genetically linked

New research published in the American Journal of Human Genetics suggests that genetic susceptibility to type II diabetes may be a cause of erectile dysfunction.

Erectile Dysfunction (ED) affects approximately 30 million adults in the United States. There are several risk factors including older age, being overweight and being a smoker.

Having certain other conditions such as diabetes, some types of cardiovascular disease, and chronic liver disease can also predispose someone to ED.

A new study has strengthened a link between type II diabetes and ED and confirms that a genetic predisposition to type II diabetes can lead to ED.

Sugary sodas tied to higher risk of kidney disease

People who drink lots of sugar-sweetened soda and fruit juices may be more likely to develop chronic kidney disease than those who don’t, a U.S. study suggests.

Researchers examined survey data on beverage consumption among 3,003 African-American men and women who were 54 years old on average and didn’t have kidney disease. After following participants for about 8 to 10 years, researchers found that 185 people, or 6 percent, developed chronic kidney disease.

After researchers accounted for factors that can contribute to kidney damage such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and inactivity, they found that drinking mainly sodas and sweetened fruit drinks were associated with a 61 percent higher risk of kidney disease.

Taken on its own, soda was associated with a 9 percent greater risk of kidney disease, and higher intakes of tea and beer were also associated with greater odds of kidney disease, the researchers report in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. No other individual types of beverages were associated with kidney disease.

Panic in Sweden as hospital admits suspected Ebola patient

There seems to be panic among citizen in Sweden after a patient suspected with Ebola, a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease was admitted in the hospital.

Though test results were yet to be received, at this stage it is just a suspicion, other illnesses are entirely possible,” a statement from regional health authorities in Uppsala, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) north of Stockholm, said.

The patient is being treated at the infectious diseases clinic at Uppsala University Hospital and is isolated.

No other details about the patient or how he or she may have acquired the disease were disclosed.

Ebola cases in DR Congo hit 560 – Official

Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have reached at least 560, with 368 deaths, the Ministry of Public Health has confirmed.

The situation as at January 2, 2019: a total of 608 cases (560 confirmed and 48 possible), 368 people died and 207 have recovered.

An additional 29 people are being investigated on suspicion that they may have contacted the virus. More than 200 people have recovered from Ebola, the ministry said. The virus is spread through direct contact with the fluids of an infected person.

Vaccination activities were also suspended.

Syphilis experiment: Drug firm Bristol-Myers Squibb faces $1billion suit

A US federal judge has ruled pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johns Hopkins University and the Rockefeller Foundation must face a $1 billion lawsuit over their roles in a 1940s medical experiment that saw hundreds of Guatemalans infected with syphilis.

774 Guatemalan victims and relatives in 2015 launched a civil suit over the US-led experiment, which aimed to find out if penicillin could be used to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

They claimed the experiment “subjected them or their family members to medical experiments in Guatemala without their knowledge or consent during the 1940s and 1950s.”

The unethical experiment was revealed by Susan Reverby, a professor at Wellesley College in the US.