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Tag: WHO

  • Ebola global cases top 20,000

    Ebola global cases top 20,000

    … Virus spreads in Sierra Leone

    The Ebola virus is still spreading in West Africa, especially in Sierra Leone, and the number of known cases globally has now exceeded 20,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

    The death toll from the outbreak, which has been mostly confined to West Africa, has risen to 7,905, the WHO said, following 317 fatalities recorded since it last issued figures on December 24, 2014.

    The number of known cases, including fatalities, totalled 20,206 at year-end, it said.

    Sierra Leone accounted for 337 of 476 new laboratory-confirmed cases since December 24.

    They included 149 in Freetown, the highest incidence in the capital in four weeks.

    The urgent need for assistance in Sierra Leone prompted the United States Agency for International Development to airlift two ambulances to Freetown from Liberia’s capital Monrovia, once the worst Ebola hotspot, the United Nations said.

    However, the number of cases in Sierra Leone over a three-week period has fallen below 1,000 for the first time since September 28, suggesting the spread of the disease is slowing, Reuters says.

    In neighbouring Guinea, the three-week total rose for a second week to 346, suggesting the epidemic is growing there.

    Nine countries have now reported cases of Ebola. In Britain, a nurse was diagnosed with the virus this week upon her return from Sierra Leone. She is being treated with blood plasma from a survivor of the virus and an experimental antiviral drug, the London hospital treating her said on Wednesday

    She had travelled from Sierra Leone to Glasgow via London and did not show symptoms during her journey, although she was “believed to have become febrile around the time of arrival to London,” the WHO said.

  • FG launches Pneumonia Vaccine

    FG launches Pneumonia Vaccine

    The Federal Government has launched Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) to combat pneumonia in Nigeria.

    Speaking at the event, the Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada said the introduction of the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is an essential response to reducing pneumonia in Nigeria.

    The Governor, who was represented by his deputy, Arch. Yomi Awoniyi, said the newly introduced vaccine is a laudable initiative that is capable of protecting young children against pneumonia and other diseases adding; “This is another strategy aimed at reaching every child at risk of pneumonia. Therefore stakeholders who are in the fore front of disseminating information on immunization and other health sectors should as a matter of priority influence the acceptance of the newly introduced vaccine.”

    The event, which held in Lokoja, Kogi State on December 22, brought together stakeholders in the health industry among whom were representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO),the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN), Clinton Health and Access Initiative, GlaxoSmithKline and other partners in the routine immunization landscape in Nigeria. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the arm of Federal Ministry of Health responsible for Routine Immunization in Nigeria was also in attendance.

    The Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Ado Muhammad is optimistic that when the nation achieves full time national coverage of the vaccine, Nigeria will avert over 600,000 childhood deaths over 3 years.

    He assured that the Federal government will ensure the availability of the “lifesaving” vaccines for the Nigerian child towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG4).

    On his part, WHO Country Director, Dr. Rui VAS, said “The introduction of PCV in Nigeria will ultimately improve the Child Health outcome of the country and accelerate the progress of the country towards achieving the MDG4 Goal”.

    The Country Director who was represented by Dr. Musa Omotosho said over 177,000 children under five years of age die from Pneumococcal diseases annually in Nigeria, and that “The introduction of PCV into the country EPI schedule will ultimately improve the health outcome of children in the country”

    Also, the Director of Disease Control and Immunization NPHCDA, Dr. Emmanuel Abanida said “We are happy this is happening at this critical time in Nigeria. Globally, pneumonia kills nearly 1 million children younger than 5 years of age each year. This is greater than the number of deaths from any infectious disease, such as HIV infection, malaria or tuberculosis. This is the reason why we are more than happy to jump start the administration of this Vaccine to ensure our children live healthy life.”

    He implored “all partners to be unrelenting in their support until every child in all African has protection against infection by bacteria or viruses that may cause pneumonia”

    Mr. Lekan Asuni,the Managing Director GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical in Nigeria, the manufacturer of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, stated that the introduction of the vaccine will bring a remarkable improvement in the reduction of childhood death related to Pneumococcal diseases.

    The introduction of the new vaccine will initially commence in some states in Nigeria,  However once nationwide introduction is achieved this historical vaccine introduction will ensure the availability of the PCV through the public health system at no cost for all children less than 1 year of age.

    Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs, which affects millions of people worldwide each year.

    Pneumonia infections can often be prevented and can usually be treated.

     

  • Ebola death toll rises to 7,518

    Ebola death toll rises to 7,518

    The death toll from Ebola in the three West Africa countries hardest hit by the epidemic has risen to 7,518 out of 19,340 confirmed cases recorded there to date, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

    The latest data showed more than 140 new deaths since the last update, posted by the WHO three days earlier.

    The epidemic, centred in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, is the world’s worst ever outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever, Reuters says.

    Sierra Leone accounts for the most cases, 8,939, while Liberia has 7,830 and Guinea 2,571. But Sierra Leone’s death toll of 2,556 is much less than the 3,376 recorded in Liberia, leading some health experts to question the credibility of the figures reported by Freetown.

    Sierra Leone’s government last week launched a major operation to contain the epidemic, where the public health infrastructure is flimsy and poverty widespread as in other West African countries.

  • 800,000 kids die from pneumonia

    800,000 kids die from pneumonia

    THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has said over 800,000 children under five years die globally from pneumococcal diseases yearly.

    It added that those less than two years were mostly affected, especially in developing countries.

    WHO Country Representative Dr. Rui Vaz, who stated this yesterday in Lokoja at the launching of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PVC), said the death rate might be up to 20 per cent for pneumonia and as high as 50 per cent for meningitis.

    His words: “In Nigeria, pneumonia alone claims the lives of approximately 177,000 children under five years annually. The PCV prevents diseases caused by pneumococcal bacteria, while its introduction into the country’s EPI (Expanded Programme on Immunisation) will improve the child health outcome and accelerate the progress of the country towards achieving the MDG4 of reduction of infant mortality rate by 2015.”

    Vaz, who was represented by Dr. Tosho Musa, said WHO had concluded assessment of the Nigeria’s PCV readiness, to be introduced in 11 states.

    He assured that the organisation would continue to provide the technical assistance in all the phases of PCV introduction in Nigeria.

    Also speaking, the Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NHCDA), Dr. Ado Muhammed, said by the time the nation achieves national coverage of the vaccine, Nigeria would  avert 173,000 childhood deaths by year 2018.

  • Saving lives of newborns in Africa

    Saving lives of newborns in Africa

    According to a new WHO report, one third of all neonatal deaths occur in the African Region. Approximately three quarters of these deaths occur during the first week of life and almost half within the first 24 hours.

    The first 28 days of life, called the neonatal period, is a very risky period for babies. For every newborn baby that dies, another 20 will face illness or disability from conditions such as birth injury, infection, the inability to breathe normally after birth, neonatal tetanus, congenital anomalies, and the complications of premature birth.

    Too many babies are also being born to mothers who have not had adequate nutrition and antenatal care during pregnancy and who were not given skilled care during the birthing process. These mothers are at the greatest risk of dying during or after delivery – leaving newborns at an even greater risk of dying from inadequate care and suboptimal feeding practices.

    According to statistics, quality care with simple, accessible, cost–effective interventions can prevent up to two thirds of all neonatal deaths. One method that has worked to reduce neonatal deaths in the African Region is kangaroo mother care (KMC). KMC is caring for preterm infants by carrying the baby skin-to-skin, usually by the mother.

    “Essential interventions that contribute towards improving the survival of newborn babies include skilled care during the time of delivery where resuscitation can be performed, if required, exclusive breastfeeding, kangaroo mother care for preterm and low-birth weight babies, and the prevention and treatment of infections,” said Dr Tigest Ketsela Mengestu, Director of the Health Promotion Cluster of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa.

    Using KMC to care for stable preterm babies has been especially beneficial in resource-poor settings. It has been shown to reduce mortality among preterm babies (< 2000 g) in hospitals by 51 per cent if started in the first week of life compared with incubator care.

    Malawi is a prime example of where KMC has been successfully used in health care settings. It’s been reported that deaths of newborn babies have been reduced from 40 deaths per 1000 live births in 2000 to 24 deaths per 1000 live births in 2012. Malawi is one of the few countries in the Region that has already achieved its 2015 Millennium Development Goal 4 targets.

    Another key to success in an African context is boosting community involvement. Many people do not go to a health care facility when they need care. Improving the quality of care at health facilities alone would not reduce neonatal and child mortality rates significantly. One way to improve this is to deliver more services through community providers.

    Community health workers (CHWs) are examples of community providers. They are trained to visit pregnant women at home to educate mothers about nutrition, breastfeeding, prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and on-going care requirements.

    CHWs also play an important role in saving the lives of newborns through home visits during the postnatal period. This allows them to review the health of the newborn and the mother, and to connect them to appropriate health care services.

    There is an urgent and on-going need for newborn health to be placed high on the global political agenda. Strong political commitments, the allocation of adequate resources, and the scaling up of a few known cost-effective interventions will save many newborn lives.

     

     

     

  • Ebola death toll nears 7,000

    The death toll in the Ebola epidemic has risen to 6,915 out of 18,603 cases as of December 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

    There are signs that the increase in incidence in Sierra Leone has slowed, although 327 new cases were confirmed there in the past week, including 125 in the capital Freetown, the WHO said in its latest update.

    “A major operation has been implemented to curb the spread of disease in the west of the country,” Reuters quoted the United Nations’ health agency as saying on the Ebola outbreak.

  • Sierra Leone overtakes Liberia in Ebola cases

    Sierra Leone overtakes Liberia in Ebola cases

    The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has risen to 6,331 in the three worst hit countries, with Sierra Leone overtaking Liberia as the country with the highest number of cases, World Health Organization figures showed on Monday.

    The cumulative number of cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone totalled 17,800, including 7,719 in Liberia and 7,798 in Sierra Leone, WHO said.

    On Friday, WHO put the three countries’ combined death toll at 6,187, out of 17,517 cases.

    Just over half the reported deaths were in Liberia, but the true toll in Sierra Leone, with an estimated fatality rate of 70 percent, is likely to be far higher than the figures show, WHO experts told Reuters.

  • Ebola death toll ‘nears’ 7,000

    Ebola death toll ‘nears’ 7,000

    The death toll from the worst Ebola outbreak on record has reached nearly 7,000 in West Africa, the World Health Organization said on Saturday.

    The toll of 6,928 dead showed a leap of just over 1,200 since the WHO released its previous report on Wednesday, Reuters says.

    The United Nations’ health agency did not provide any explanation for the abrupt increase, but the figures, published on its website, appeared to include previously unreported deaths.

    A WHO spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

    Just over 16,000 people have been diagnosed with Ebola since the outbreak was confirmed in the forests of remote southeastern Guinea in March, according to the WHO data that covered the three hardest-hit countries.

    Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have accounted for all but 15 of the deaths in the outbreak, which has touched five other countries, according to the previous WHO figures.

  • Ebola cases near 16,000, says WHO

    Ebola cases near 16,000, says WHO

    The death toll in the  world’s worst Ebola epidemic has risen to 5,689 out of 15,935 cases reported in eight countries by November  23, the World Health Organization (WHO)  has said.

    Almost all cases and all but 15 deaths have been in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia – the three hardest-hit countries, which reported 600 new cases in the past week, the WHO said in its latest update.

    “The total number of cases reported in Sierra Leone since the outbreak began will soon eclipse the number reported from Liberia,” it said. The former British colony has reported 6,599 cases against 7,168 in Liberia.

    Transmission of the virus remains intense in Sierra Leone, especially in the west and north, with the capital Freetown still the worst affected area, it said.

    Sierra Leone appealed to the United States on Wednesday to send military aid to help it battle Ebola as it falls behind its West African neighbors, Guinea and Liberia, in the fight against the virus.

    “Liberia and Sierra Leone report that fewer than 70 per cent of patients are isolated, though there is wide variation among districts,” the WHO said, referring to an international target set for December 1. However, some data is out of date, it said.

    Isolation is required to halt further spread of the viral haemorrhagic disease, and the aim is to isolate 100 percent of patients by January 1, it added.

    Contacts of people known to be infected should be monitored for symptoms, including fever, but relatively low numbers being reported “suggest that in districts with high case incidence, fewer contacts are currently registered in connection with each new case than is necessary to accurately monitor chains of transmission”, the WHO warned.

    Mali has reported eight Ebola cases, six of them fatal, and 285 contacts exposed to the virus there are being checked, it said.

    WHO teams are evaluating the preparedness of neighbouring countries to combat Ebola, and visits are planned to the Central African Republic, Niger, and Ethiopia next week, it said.

    Peter Piot, a leading specialist on the disease, said   West Africa’s Ebola epidemic could worsen further before abating, but new infections should start to decline in all affected countries by the end of the year.

    The first Cuban doctor infected with Ebola, evacuated from Sierra Leone to Geneva last week, is improving and responding to treatment, the University Hospital of Geneva said in a statement late on Tuesday. His medical team is “reasonably optimistic”.

  • 300 million people are diabetic, says WHO

    300 million people are diabetic, says WHO

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that about three hundred million people worldwide have diabetes, while over one million died as a result of the ailment in 2012.

    Also, five million Nigerians are estimated to be diabetic and less than 50 per cent of them are aware of their condition.

    WHO said the condition had become a major public health concern and the burden “is increasing globally, especially in developing countries.

    The Country Representative, WHO, Dr Rui Vaz, said an estimated 347 million people had diabetes worldwide with about 1.5 million deaths caused by the disease in 2012.

    Vaz, who was represented by Dr. Mary Stephen, said more than 80 per cent of diabetes deaths occurred in low and middle income countries.

    “In Sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that 8 per cent of the population above 25 years have diabetes.

    “However, most people with diabetes in Africa are unaware of their condition and therefore do not seek treatment. Untreated, uncontrolled or poorly managed diabetes leads to complications, such as heart attack, kidney failure, stroke, lower limb amputations, visual impairment and blindness. But, the good news is that healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes,” Vas added.

    The Minister of State and Supervising Minister for Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, said the challenges posed by the disease called for increased prevention among the nation’s population.

    Pledging Federal Government’s support to the diabetes group, the minister said the theme for this year’s commemoration, “Healthy Living and Diabetes,” had given greater room for more awareness on the disease.

    He said: “Diabetes is increasingly becoming an epidemic in developing countries like Nigeria, especially among adolescents and young adults. This is partly due to the rapid socio-cultural change being experienced in most developing countries, leading to the adoption of new lifestyles and risky behaviours. Trade, foreign investiments and promotional marketing involved in economic development encourage these unhealthy lifestyles.

    “The two major types of diabetes are types 1 and 2. In Nigeria and most parts of the world, type 2 diabetes constitutes about 96 per cent of all diabetic cases. Fortunately, type 2 can be prevented and controlled by avoiding risky behaviours and unhealthy lifestyle. The modifiable shared risk factors for diabetes include tobacco use, unhealthy nutrition, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol. The clustering of these risk factors in an individual predisposes him or her to diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.”

    The President, Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Mr. Sunny Chinneye, said yesterday in Abuja at a briefing to mark this year’s World Diabetic Day that over a million people with the condition had registered in the association from different parts of the country.

    He said people should desist from consuming alcohol, excessive fatty meals and smoking, noting that healthy weight and being physically active would prevent the disease.

    Chinneye warned that the  diseases had no cure, but could be prevented.