Expert advocates citizen-focused new health system for Nigeria
Emeritus Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe has called for a new health system that is tailored to the needs of the ordinary man in the street
Why Nigerians defecate publicly
Special report on why improved public awareness is not enough to reduce public defecation in Nigeria
First aid tips to save accident victims
The first few minutes of a medical emergency are always critical, but nearly two thirds of us admit we wouldn’t know what to do
Study identifies risk factors associated with neonatal deaths in Nigeria
A new study has identified risk factors associated with neonatal deaths in Nigeria using the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey
Doctors call for Lassa fever treatment centers in south east Nigeria
The South East zonal caucus of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has enjoined the Nigerian government to establish health centres and facilities where Lassa fever patients could be treated and managed
Handshakes spread more germs than fist bumps, new study reveals
A new study conducted in UK said fist bumps spread far fewer germs than the traditional handshake, and even the high five.
Nigeria records another suspected case of Ebola virus infection
Ebola not in Nigeria, govt shuts down hospital
Lagos state government releases emergency response numbers for Ebola disease
Possible First case of Ebola under investigation in Nigeria
Novartis launches new high quality antimalarial formulation of Coartem for Africa
Novartis has announced today the launch of a new high quality antimalarial formulation of Coartem® 80/480 (artemether/lumefantrine 80 mg/480 mg), for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in adults and older children who weigh above 35kg.
The drug has been registered by the Pharmacy and poisons board in Kenya and has already been launched in Nigeria and Angola. Kenya is the 3rd country in Africa to launch Coartem 80/480. Other countries that have registered Coartem 80/480 include Uganda and Ghana.Nigerian government urged to be proactive concerning spread of Ebola virus
WHO releases guidelines on treatment of hepatitis C
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its first guidance for the treatment of hepatitis C,
a chronic infection that affects an estimated 130 million to 150
million people and results in 350 000 to 500 000 deaths a year.
Lassa fever kills one, 5 critically ill in Plateau state
Plateau state ministry of health has confirmed that one person has died while five others are critically ill and are receiving intensive medical treatment as a result of Lassa fever
outbreak in Plateau state in Nigeria.
Nigeria in great danger of Ebola virus disease outbreak - health minister
Even though it had earlier said there was no Ebola virus disease outbreak in Nigeria, Nigerian government through the Federal Ministry of Health has said the spread of
Ebola Virus Disease to neighbouring West African countries has put Nigeria in danger.
There are no effective vaccines for most vector-borne diseases - Chukwu
Ghana investigating first suspected case of Ebola virus disease
Prevention and control of Ebola virus disease
Nigerian government yesterday raised red alert on the Ebola virus disease outbreak that has been reported in several countries in the West African sub-region. While the alert stated that there has not been any reported case of the disease in Nigeria, it is necessary that you become informed on how to prevent and control the disease.
Nigerian government issues red alert on Ebola virus
Nigerian government has issued a red alert on Ebola virus, the causative agent of Ebola hemorrhagic fever. In the alert, Nigeria's federal ministry of health is urging individuals with high fever, headache, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and bleeding to report to the health authorities, especially individuals who had traveled to Guinea, Sierra Leone and/or Liberia.
[CME] Roles of STD detection and treatment in HIV prevention
What is the link between STDs and HIV infection?
Individuals who are infected with STDs are at least two to five times more likely than uninfected individuals to acquire HIV infection if they are exposed to the virus through sexual contact. In addition, if an HIV-infected individual is also infected with another STD, that person is more likely to transmit HIV through sexual contact than other HIV-infected persons (Wasserheit, 1992).
here is substantial biological evidence demonstrating that the presence of other STDs increases the likelihood of both transmitting and acquiring HIV.
- Increased susceptibility. STDs appear to increase susceptibility to HIV infection by two mechanisms. Genital ulcers (e.g., syphilis, herpes, or chancroid) result in breaks in the genital tract lining or skin. These breaks create a portal of entry for HIV. Additionally, inflammation resulting from genital ulcers or non-ulcerative STDs (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis) increase the concentration of cells in genital secretions that can serve as targets for HIV (e.g., CD4+ cells).
-
- Increased infectiousness. STDs also appear to increase the risk of an HIV-infected person transmitting the virus to his or her sex partners. Studies have shown that HIV-infected individuals who are also infected with other STDs are particularly likely to shed HIV in their genital secretions. For example, men who are infected with both gonorrhea and HIV are more than twice as likely to have HIV in their genital secretions than are those who are infected only with HIV. Moreover, the median concentration of HIV in semen is as much as 10 times higher in men who are infected with both gonorrhea and HIV than in men infected only with HIV. The higher the concentration of HIV in semen or genital fluids, the more likely it is that HIV will be transmitted to a sex partner.
How can STD treatment slow the spread of HIV infection?Evidence from intervention studies indicates that detecting and treating STDs may reduce HIV transmission.- STD treatment reduces an individual's ability to transmit HIV. Studies have shown that treating STDs in HIV-infected individuals decreases both the amount of HIV in genital secretions and how frequently HIV is found in those secretions (Fleming, Wasserheit, 1999).
- Herpes can make people more susceptible to HIV infection, and it can make HIV-infected individuals more infectious. It is critical that all individuals, especially those with herpes, know whether they are infected with HIV and, if uninfected with HIV, take measures to protect themselves from infection with HIV.
- Among individuals with both herpes and HIV, trials are underway studying if treatment of the genital herpes helps prevent HIV transmission to partners.
What are the implications for HIV prevention?Strong STD prevention, testing, and treatment can play a vital role in comprehensive programs to prevent sexual transmission of HIV. Furthermore, STD trends can offer important insights into where the HIV epidemic may grow, making STD surveillance data helpful in forecasting where HIV rates are likely to increase. Better linkages are needed between HIV and STD prevention efforts nationwide in order to control both epidemics.In the context of persistently high prevalence of STDs in many parts of the United States and with emerging evidence that the U.S. HIV epidemic increasingly is affecting populations with the highest rates of curable STDs, the CDC/HRSA Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS and STD Prevention (CHAC) recommended the following:- Early detection and treatment of curable STDs should become a major, explicit component of comprehensive HIV prevention programs at national, state, and local levels;
- In areas where STDs that facilitate HIV transmission are prevalent, screening and treatment programs should be expanded;
- HIV testing should always be recommended for individuals who are diagnosed with or suspected to have an STD.
- HIV and STD prevention programs in the United States, together with private and public sector partners, should take joint responsibility for implementing these strategies.
CHAC also notes that early detection and treatment of STDs should be only one component of a comprehensive HIV prevention program, which also must include a range of social, behavioral, and biomedical interventions.
Source: CDC
AMP lauds Nigeria’s new last mile model for distribution of health commodities
The Alliance for Malaria Prevention (AMP) has
recognized the USAID DELIVER PROJECT in Nigeria and its partners with an award
for their work initiating and implementing the Direct Delivery and Information
Capture (DDIC) model.
AstraZeneca boosts health research in Nigeria with new research grant
AstraZeneca
Nigeria Research Grant, an initiative to facilitate research in both
communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), has been launched. The grant
follows closely on the recent successful launch of a similar venture in Kenya
earlier this year.
New US-led initiative launched to control infectious diseases globally
Virus or stigma: what kills faster?
By Chibuike Alagboso
I will never forget the look on her
face as she collected her HIV screening result from me. She kept staring at it
and I am sure she was very oblivious of my existence at that particular moment
or even the existence of any other thing in the world that moment.
Posts
