NAFDAC dispels allegations of under-dosed paracetamol tablets in Nigeria – Newstrends
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NAFDAC dispels allegations of under-dosed paracetamol tablets in Nigeria

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10 months ago

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NAFDAC dispels allegations of under-dosed paracetamol tablets in Nigeria

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says the recent publication claiming that paracetamol drugs in Nigeria are under-dosed is fake.

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

Adeyeye said that the publication was a disservice to Nigeria, adding that academic publications need to be more responsive to issues of public health.

A 2023 study with samples from five paracetamol brands claiming to contain 500mg paracetamol as its active ingredient, were said to have been tested and analysed using the spectrophotometric method.

But the paracetamol concentrations were reportedly found to range from 185mg to 358mg, which is less than the recommended 500mg.

The study’s researchers raised concerns about the possibility of treatment failure due to under-dosed paracetamol tablets.

Adeyeye, however, said that findings have shown that the said publication has been retracted.

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Adeyeye, who cautioned against playing on the intelligence of the 250 million Nigerians, enjoined all Nigerians to use paracetamol.

“There is nothing wrong with our paracetamol. The publication is fake and I’m speaking from the perspective of a professor.

The NAFDAC boss said as a scientist she proved the publication wrong and immediately the agency instructed its staff to do sampling.

“And when you are doing sampling, you don’t do sampling in one place. We used 36 made RS2 software of mathematical package to know where to go, to know how many samples to take.

“So that statistically when the results come out it can be validated. So they went and took samples from Abuja and Lagos.

“But as a scientists we did the test using international standard not a Nigerian university standard, not a Nigerian standard, not a West African standard.”

She argued that there is no single lab in Nigeria that is better than that of NAFDAC, adding that the agency had been judicious in its financial management.

“That lab were these products were tested this week is a WHO pre-qualified laboratory and we have been working on that for about six years.

“We got that in September 2023, WHO pre-qualified laboratory, only few countries have such attainment or laboratory have such attainment in Africa.”

The NAFDAC boss said that the agency was building quality culture in the industry and encouraging local production of food and drugs to allow for more jobs and save foreign exchange.

NAFDAC dispels allegations of under-dosed paracetamol tablets in Nigeria

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Measles infection reached 10.3 million people in 2023 – WHO

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2 days ago

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November 25, 2024

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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).

The report further showed that as measles cases surge and outbreaks increase, the world’s elimination goal, as laid out in Immunisation Agenda 2030, was under threat.

“Worldwide, 82 countries had achieved or maintained measles elimination at end of 2023. Just this week, Brazil was reverified as having eliminated measles, making the WHO Americas Region once again free of endemic measles. With the exception of the African Region, at least 1 country in all WHO regions has eliminated the disease.”

It further called for urgent and targeted efforts by countries and partners, particularly in the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, and in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings to vaccinate all children fully with two doses of measles vaccine.

“This requires achieving and maintaining high-performing routine immunisation programmes and delivering high-quality, high-coverage campaigns when those programmes are not yet sufficient to protect every child.

It further noted that countries and global immunisation partners must also strengthen disease surveillance, including the Global Measles Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN) as strong disease surveillance is critical to optimising immunisation programmes and detecting and responding rapidly to measles outbreaks in order to mitigate their size and impact.

Measles infection reached 10.3 million people in 2023 – WHO

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Beirut hit by massive Israeli strikes – local media

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4 days ago

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November 23, 2024

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Beirut hit by massive Israeli strikes – local media

Israel has carried out massive air strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese media say, and there are reports of several deaths.

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

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Constant sexual intercourse does not prevent prostate cancer – Urologist

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1 week ago

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November 18, 2024

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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.

Similarly, Dr Saviour Eze, Head of Medical Team in CCCI, said that they decided to partner with ASI Ukpo because the outreach specifically called out men to be attended to, which was quite unusual in the society.

Eze said as a church, they recognised the fact that physical illnesses should be handled by those God had placed in the medical profession to take care, even though they pray for God’s healing.

NAN also reports that the outreach, which saw men screened for the function of their hearts, kidneys, livers, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA), was in partnership with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Rotary Club, and Pink Africa, among others. (NA

Constant sexual intercourse does not prevent prostate cancer – Urologist

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