Health
420,000 die annually of contaminated food, 600 million fall ill – Minister
Health Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has said that every year, nearly one in every ten people in the world, an estimated 600 million people fall ill and 420,000 others die after eating food contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances such as heavy metals.
Ehanire disclosed this during an event to mark 2022 World Food Safety Day, adding, over 200 diseases are caused by eating contaminated food.
According to him, food, if not safe, is not food. Food is a health product and the first component of basic health care delivery. The slogan for World Food Safety Day is “Food Safety is Every One’s Business and is a reminder that we all play a role in keeping food safe. This calls for prioritization of food safety throughout the d supply chain, from farm to table.”
He also said, “Children under the age of five are at higher risk of malnutrition and mortality due to unsafe food and they carry 40% of food borne disease burden. Unsafe food causes one in six deaths from diarrhea, a major killer in this age group. World Food Safety Day is a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of unsafe food with governments, producers, handlers and consumers having a role to play in making food safe.”
The Minister noted that unsafe food hinted that World Food Safety Day is a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of unsafe food with governments, producers, handlers and consumers having a role to play in making food safe.
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“Unsafe food hinders development especially on low- and middle-income economies, which lose around US$ 95 billion in productivity associated with illness, disability, and premature death suffered by workers (farmers, processors, handlers and marketers and consumers).
“This is standing in accord with World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the National Food Safety Management Committee (NFSMC) and the global Food Safety Community with the aim to draw attention and inspire action that prevents, detect and manage food borne risks that guarantee safer food for better health.
“In line with this year’s theme “Safer food, better health” emphasizes that all are consumers and food safety counts first for better health. Safe food is essential to human health and well-being. Only when food is safe can we fully benefit from its nutritional value and from the mental and social benefits of sharing a safe meal.
“Safe food is one of the most critical guarantors for good health. Unsafe foods are the cause of many diseases and contribute to other poor health conditions, such as impaired growth and development.
“The good news is that most food borne diseases are preventable. Our behaviour, the way we build food systems and how we organize food supply chains can prevent infectious and toxic hazards, microbial pathogens (bacteria, viruses and parasites), chemical residues, biotoxins and other noxious or dangerous substances from getting into our plates. We need to transform food systems to deliver better health, and we need to do so in a sustainable manner.
“Food systems policy-makers, practitioners and investors should reorient their activities to increase the sustainable production and consumption of safe foods in order to improve health outcomes, to make safe and healthy diets”, he stated.
PILOT
Health
Measles infection reached 10.3 million people in 2023 – WHO
Measles infection reached 10.3 million people in 2023 – WHO
A new report by the World Health Organisation, WHO, has shown that no fewer than 10.3 million people were infected with measles in 2023.
The new estimates from the WHO and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, showed that the surge was a 20 per cent increase from 2022. The report further traced the surge on inadequate immunisation coverage globally.
Measles is preventable with two doses of measles vaccine; yet more than 22 million children missed their first dose of measles vaccine in 2023. Globally, an estimated 83 per cent of children received their first dose of measles vaccine last year, while only 74 per cent received the recommended second dose.
Coverage of 95 per cent or greater of two doses of measles vaccine is needed in each country and community to prevent outbreaks and protect populations from one of the world’s most contagious human viruses.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who spoke on the report, said: “Measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years. To save even more lives and stop this deadly virus from harming the most vulnerable, we must invest in immunisation for every person, no matter where they live.
“The number of measles infections are rising around the globe, endangering lives and health,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said. “The measles vaccine is our best protection against the virus, and we must continue to invest in efforts to increase access.”
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As a result of global gaps in vaccination coverage, 57 countries experienced large or disruptive measles outbreaks in 2023, affecting all regions except the Americas, and representing a nearly 60 per cent increase from 36 countries in the previous year. The WHO African, Eastern Mediterranean, European, South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions experienced a substantial upsurge in cases. Nearly half of all large and disruptive outbreaks occurred in the African region.
The new data showed that an estimated 107,500 people, mostly children younger than 5 years of age, died due to measles in 2023.
“Although this is an 8 per cent decrease from the previous year, far too many children are still dying from this preventable disease. This slight reduction in deaths was mainly because the surge in cases occurred in countries and regions where children with measles are less likely to die, due to better nutritional status and access to health services.
Even when people survive measles, serious health effects can occur, some of which are lifelong. Infants and young children are at greatest risk of serious complications from the disease, which include blindness, pneumonia, and encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage).
Health
Beirut hit by massive Israeli strikes – local media
Beirut hit by massive Israeli strikes – local media
An eight-storey residential building was completely destroyed with five missiles in the capital’s Basta district, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
Hezbollah’s al-Manar media outlet quoted the Lebanese health ministry as saying four people were killed and 23 injured. Videos have now emerged purportedly showing the wreckage of a building.
The Israeli military made no immediate comments on the reported strikes early on Saturday.
The massive Israeli attack happened at about 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Saturday, and the explosions shook the city.
In the dark, emergency teams searched the site in Basta, a densely populated area.
Footage showed a plume of smoke rising from a huge crater after one building collapsed.
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In recent months, Israeli air strikes have killed several top Hezbollah members in Beirut, including the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began a major offensive against Hezbollah in September, carrying out air strikes and also sending troops into southern Lebanon.
The hostilities escalated after the Iran-backed Hezbollah fired repeated salvoes of rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas, the Palestinian group that carried out the deadly 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel.
Israel’s stated goal in its war against Hezbollah is to allow the return of about 60,000 residents who have been displaced from communities in northern Israel because of the group’s attacks.
In Lebanon, the conflict has killed more than 3,500 people and forced more than one million from their homes, Lebanese authorities say.
Earlier this week, a US mediator visited both Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to secure a ceasefire.
Amos Hochstein indicated some progress had been made – but has not publicly commented on any details.
Beirut hit by massive Israeli strikes – local media
BBC
Health
Constant sexual intercourse does not prevent prostate cancer – Urologist
Constant sexual intercourse does not prevent prostate cancer – Urologist
A consultant urologist, Dr. Odezi Otobo, says there is no medical or urological evidence that constant sexual intercourse and ejaculation reduce a man’s risk of contracting prostate cancer.
Otobo, who works with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), said this at a medical outreach for men organised by Asi Ukpo Comprehensive Cancer Centre on Monday in Calabar.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the outreach, which was held at the premises of the Christian Central Chapel International (CCCI), Calabar, is part of programmes to commemorate “Movember.”
Movember, which involves growing of moustaches, is an annual event held in November to raise awareness of men’s health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s mental health.
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The urologist, who was reacting to claims on social media that constant sexual activities and having multiple girlfriends could prevent prostate cancer, said the disease was either hereditary, caused by lifestyle, or environmental.
“Instead of taking unprofessional and unscientific advice from different quarters, it is important to visit a hospital if you notice anything, and for those in their forties and fifties, get screened because early detection is key to effective treatment of cancer.
“Prostate cancer is indolent cancer and can be handled when a man is aware, visits a medical facility, and changes his lifestyle, not by having multiple ‘side chicks,’ he said.
On his part, Mr Yegwa Ukpo, the Executive Director, Asi Ukpo Comprehensive Cancer Centre, said they had to commemorate Movember because men’s health issues were hardly addressed in society.
Represented by Mrs Mercy Njoku, Event and Outreach Manager of the centre, Ukpo said there was something about masculinity in society that made men think they had to keep their issues to themselves.
“I want to appeal to the men to take their health seriously because cases of men slumping and dying in their forties and fifties are on the increase; we don’t want this to continue.
“Also, a lot of men engage in excessive intake of alcohol; others work all the time just to make ends meet without checking their livers, kidneys, hearts, and even mental state; this is why we are insisting on this outreach, which will be annual,” he said.
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