Health

A female resident doctor of the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia, the Abia state capital, has been confirmed dead as a result of Lassa fever at Irrua Specialist Hospital, after few days of admission.

Confirming the report to Channels Television, Medical Director FMC, Dr Abali Chuku, said that the hospital is collaborating with the centre for Disease Control and Ministry of Health, following the guideline and protocol that includes contact tracing, surveillance and prophylaxis for those she came in contact with while on admission at the hospital.

Thanks to a laser-equipped mini-microscope developed by a French start-up, scientists have discovered a previously undetected feature of the human anatomy that could help explain why some cancers spread so quickly.

Nobody was looking for the interstitium, as the new quasi-organ is called, because no one knew it was there, at least not in complex form revealed in a study published this week.

As with many breakthroughs in medicine and science, it was to paraphrase Louis Pasteur’s oft-quoted dictum a case of chance favouring the prepared.

The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) says it will kick start a nationwide comprehensive free eye test for children between the ages of five and 14.

Dr Ngozi Nwanekezie, Chairperson of NOA FCT Chapter, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja that the initiative was aimed at improving the sight of children in the country.

She said the exercise was slated for every last Friday of the month and it would begin on March 30 and end in November.

Nwanekezie said the initiative was tagged “My sight, my right”, adding that the objective was to ensure high quality vision and eye health as the right of every child.

Severe Pain affects half of all persons suffering from cancer and an estimated 80 per cent of those with advanced cancer.

A study suggests that patients with cancer could ease their pain levels by using a simple pen and paper bedside chart.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, discovered that the chart works by encouraging doctors to ask the right questions and reflect on pain medications and side effects more frequently before patients reach a crisis point.

A nutritionist, Dr. Bartholomew Brai, at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, has advised again the consumption of exposed onion cut the previous day, to avoid food poisoning.

Dr. Brai made the disclosure to press men on Wednesday, that such sliced onion if not properly stored when exposed could be highly poisonous as they could create toxic bacteria.

According to him, the vegetable contains sugar which promote bacteria growth.

A medical expert, Dr Stephen Aderemi of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), has cautioned people against too much intake of locally prepared herbs to avoid causing grave damage to their health.

Herbs are plants with aromatic properties used for either medicinal purposes, flavouring food, or as fragrances.

According to Aderemi not all the plants reported to be useful were harmless.

The doctor added that, if plants are taken without adequate knowledge of prescription, they can cause kidney and liver dysfunction or even death in some cases.