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Tag: urine

  • Oyo Lawmaker declares free weekly medical service in constituency

    Oyo Lawmaker declares free weekly medical service in constituency

    A member of the House of Representatives representing Lagelu/Akinyele federal constituency of Oyo state, Hon. Olatoye Sugar as set aside every Wednesday as a day for free medical services for old people and pregnant women across his constituency.

    The free medical services include ultrasound scanning for pregnant women, eye treatment with glasses and drugs, malaria treatment for children and adults as well as blood sugar level, HIV, Urine and stool test aimed at reducing the astronomical medical fees for rural dwellers in the constituency.

    In a statement signed by his Media Aide, Sola Omotayo and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, the lawmaker appealed to wealthy Nigerians to also support less privileged members of the society.

    The lawmaker urged citizens to remain patriotic and committed to the Nigerian project even in the face of economic hardship, assuring that better days lie ahead of all of them.

    Hon. Sugar commended the spirit of togetherness, oneness and peaceful coexistence exhibited during the just concluded sallah festivity, saying that, it is only in an atmosphere of peace devoid of political, ethnic and religious acrimony that Nigeria could achieve the desired greatness.

    In his words, he said: “People should exhibit a high level of care and concern to fellow human being during the Sallah celebration and beyond as only the living can partake in the joy of the season now and afterwards”.

    While urging members of the public to celebrate in moderation and be security conscious to avoid any form of disaster as criminals take advantage of this kind of season to perpetrate evil, he charges all security agencies to be at their best in ensuring a hitch free Celebration.

    Hon Sugar however congratulated the President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of House of Reps, Yakubu Dogara, Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Alaafin of Oyo, Olubadan of Ibadanland, Aseyin of Iseyin and all Muslim faithfuls across Nigeria on this year’s Eid – el-Kabir celebration.

  • Nigeria gets urine malaria test kit

    •To boost treatment outcome

    Nigerians can now test for malaria before treatment with its first ever Fyodor Urine malaria test (UMT) kit within 25 minutes.

    The inventor, Dr Edwin Agbo, said the innovation, a do-it-yourself (DIY), is a giant stride as malaria has killed half of the world population.

    Speaking at the introduction/ launch of the product in Lagos, he said not all fevers are due to malaria.

    Moreover, no fewer than 25 medical conditions are associated with fevers.

    He underscored the need for best practices and improved quality of care, such as  test, treat and track – follow up with a provider.

    “The test discovers parasite proteins present in the urine,” he said.

    UMT, he said, meets an urgent need for a non-invasive malaria diagnosis.

    “Fever is a sign of malaria but there are many other causes of fever. There is a need to accurately tell if a fever is due to malaria or not to target treatment,” he added.

    Agbo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fyodor Biotechnologies, said the number of malaria cases is going down because of the availability of malaria testing.

    Traditional malaria testing procedures, Agbo said, are non-existent in private and community health settings, due partially to the risk of blood handling and challenges associated with the multi-step format.

    He warned that the urine for the test should not be stored in the refrigerator because it would crystalise it. “Any state of urine, however, can be used for testing,” he said.

    Principal Investigator and Director ANDI Centre of Excellence for Malaria Diagnosis, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof Wellington Oyibo said his team did its protocol so that UMT can sit anywhere in the world.

    Why? This is because diagnosis of malaria is an integral part of treatment.

    He said most of the study was carried out in Ikorodu and environs with about 1500 participants, who are between two years and above, involved.

    Vice President, Business Development and Projects Fyodor Dr Victoria Enwemadu said the product has the certification of local and international authorities.

    She said the product does not need blood, reagent, equipment and guesswork.

    To use the product, she said, people should dip the white end of the strip into urine sample and leave for 25 minutes.

    “If the result shows two lines, it is malaria but if is a line, it is not malaria,” she said. The shelf life, she said, was two years.

    Lagos State’s Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris said malaria pose a major challenge to the state and Nigeria as a whole.

    Moreover, it is the leading cause of death in Lagos State.

    Idris, represented by Dr Folayinka Daniel said: “Last year, 736,328 cases were reported.”Malaria, he said, remained a priority for the state.

    According to him, the disease impedes development and as such serves as a cause and consequence of under-development.

    He said the gold standard for malaria diagnosis is microscopy, adding that it is available in all public secondary and tertiary facilities in the state.

  • Urine test kit for malaria

    A 25-minute do-it-yourself Urine Malaria Test (UMT) kit has been unveiled in Lagos by Fyodor Biotechnologies Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of Fyodor Biotechnologies Corps, United States (US).

    The kit, marketed  by Geneith Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Ltd,  is the first- ever non-blood malaria test kit that will tell in less than 25 minutes if a fever is caused by malaria or not.

    The technology, according to the company, requires a few drops of urine without any reagent or equipment.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Fyodor Biotechnologies Corps, Mr. Eddy Agbo, said despite the huge success recorded in the fight against malaria, it remains the single most deadly disease across the world.

    Malaria, he said, affects about 3.2 billion people in 97 countries.

    Agbo said half a million people die of malaria yearly, stressing that most malaria deaths occur within 48 hours of fever onset and children under-five years are particularly vulnerable.

    “Fever is a sign of malaria, but many other diseases can also present with fever. So, prompt accurate diagnosis is critical before initiating treatment,” he said.

    He said the UMT was the first to have its clinical trial and validation done in the country.  ”It is a one step, no blood, no reagent, no equipment, read by eyes, which performs equivalently with malaria rapid blood tests.

    “The UMT is a simple dipstick test that uses immunochromatographic technology to detect malaria proteins shed in the urine of persons with fever due to malaria. The test process is simple: add patient urine into sample cup provided in kit; dip and leave UMT strip in the sample for 25 minutes; read result: one line indicates no malaria and two lines indicate malaria,” he said.

    Agbo said UMT will enable healthcare providers to follow national and international guidelines of test before treating malaria.

    Besides, it is suitable for public and private healthcare setting.

    “Fyodor has worked closely with many collaborators and partners to ensure that the UMT undergo full-scale pivotal clinical trial. Pre-clinical and clinical validation studies were conducted in partner with College of Medicine, University of Lagos; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital; Johns Hopkins University United States; Duke University USA; the Federal Ministry of Health and National Malaria Elimination Program; Lagos State Ministry of Health and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control,” he said.

  • School gets N3.5m to produce urine generator

    School gets N3.5m to produce urine generator

    Doregos Private Academy, Ipaja has got assistance from the Bank of Industry [BOI] to develop its urine-powered generator.

    They were promised the sum of N3.5m by the BOI after winning the Dragon’s Den competition organised to mark the 20th anniversary of Oxbridge Tutorial College, in Ikeja, Lagos.

    Dragon’s Den is a business entrepreneurship competition aimed at igniting the entrepreneurial spirit in young people. The participants present business ideas to a panel of judges (Dragons) – made up of business professionals with the hope of getting sponsorship.

    Represented by Adebola Duro-Aina, Eniola Bello, Oluwatoyin Faleke, and Omotola Adewale, Doregos Private Academy beat Queensland Academy, Okota, Lagos Lagos Anglican Girls Grammar School, Surulere, Igbobi College, Yaba, and the host school to emerge winner.

    They presented a urine-powered generator which they said would reduce carbon monoxide-related deaths if it replaces the petrol generator. Carbon monoxide is emitted from generators that use petrol.

    The pupils told the judges that the generator is inexpensive to produce and run. They said a litre of urine can last six hours.

    Adebola toldThe Nation afterwards that she was happy about the victory and the promised assistance to help them produce more generators.

    She added that some professors are conducting research to make their work better.

    Igbobi College came second with their bread production business idea.

    The school’s team, comprising Ukamadu Nelson, Agwui Samuel, Chigbu Bethel and Uyi Ebueku, said through their bread business, they can reduce unemployment in Nigeria.

    They gave an example of their school and King’s College, where pupils consume over 7,200 loafs of bread in a month and requested for N5, 000, 000 to run the business and deliver profits to the dragons within five years.

    The Lagos Anglican Girls Grammar School came third with its catfish farming business, while Oxbridge’s waste management idea was adjudged fourth best. Queensland’s adire business placed fifth.

    While announcing the results, Mr Adetokunbo Akinsola of BOI praised Doregos for innovative and affordable project. He said distributing their plans to the judges also gave them an edge over others.