Four new cases of #Covid19 have just been recorded in Lagos State, Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi has announced in an ongoing press conference, at the state secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Thursday.
This makes a total of 12 cases confirmed in Nigeria, of which 11 are in Lagos, and one in Ekiti, since the outbreak of the disease in the country.
Disclosing more information about the four new cases, Abayomi said 19 tests were performed on suspected cases and contacts of the five cases announced on Wednesday, out of which four turned positive.
Prof. Akin Abayomi, commissioner for health, Lagos State
He noted that the first positive test is that of a Nigerian female who returned from France through a Turkish airline (TK 1830) on 14 March.
The second case is a Nigerian male in his 50s who had never traveled anywhere. He tested positive and had since been admitted.
A Nigerian male who arrived in Nigeria on 13 March, from Frankfurt, Germany on Luftansa flight LH 568, is also one of them.
Abayomi admitted that the state is confronted with both imported cases and local transmission, as they intensify contact tracking of over 1,300 people in connection with confirmed cases.
If you discover you feel a little feverish, having runny nose, cough, and sore throat at the same time, and still get your shopping done with a quick workout at the gym, you could be spreading the coronavirus, a new study concludes.
About 86 per cent of COVID-19 cases in China were milder and went undetected during the two-week ramp-up of the epidemic in January, prior to the country’s travel restrictions, according to findings published in the journal Issue ofScience.
These undocumented cases of the infection were “about half as infectious per person as a documented case who has more severe symptoms and may be shedding more,” said senior researcher Jeffrey Shaman, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in New York City.
However, “because there are many more of these undocumented cases, it’s the undocumented infections that are driving the spread and growth of the outbreak,” Shaman said.
A young man at the gym centre
The continued and widening lockdown of the United States is therefore the right move to limit the COVID-19 epidemic as much as possible, the researchers said.
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced during a media briefing that the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention now advises all Americans to avoid all gatherings of more than 10 people, avoid eating and drinking at restaurants, bars and food courts, and avoid discretionary travel for 15 days.
Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Dr Deborah Birx said during the briefing that the latest step was taken because new modelling shows that a significant amount of the coronavirus’ spread is fuelled by “silent transmission.”
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was blunt about the coming weeks. “The worst is yet ahead for us,” he said during the briefing. “It’s how we respond to that challenge that will determine what the ultimate endpoint is going to be.”
Across the country, many shops, schools, restaurants, bars and gyms have already closed in an effort to promote social distancing and keep people from infecting each other with coronavirus.
Another much-touted policy aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19—travel bans—is not nearly as effective, a second study published recently in Science found.
Travel bans implemented inside China only delayed the spread of the epidemic by three to five days, while international bans halted the spread of coronavirus by about a few weeks, said senior researcher Alessandro Vespignani, director of the Network Science Institute at North-eastern University, in Boston.
“Travel restrictions alone do not really do much but delay the spread of the disease,” said study co-author Elizabeth Halloran, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Washington School Of Public Health, in Seattle. “Delaying is good because it slows things down, but the idea is that transmissibility really is key.”
Reducing transmissibility includes detecting and isolating infected people, social distancing, school closures, increased hygiene, and overall improved awareness of the virus, Halloran said.
“Reduced travel and transmissibility does produce a synergistic effect, but it’s the transmissibility that’s more important,” she concluded.
Trump has floated the idea of restricting domestic travel to California and Washington, but the two studies show this would be little more than a delaying tactic, experts said.
“The epidemic now is already seeded in the United States,” Vespignani said. “We see on-going local transmission in many states, and probably it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Closing travel might delay the progression of the epidemic in some places and provide some time for preparation.”
In the first study, Shaman and his colleagues created a computer model that tracked observations of reported infection and spread within China, as well as human movement within the country as revealed by mobile phone data.
The research team suspected that mild cases of COVID-19 were likely behind the ferocious spread of the virus in China, given human nature.
“If somebody is experiencing mild symptoms, and I think most of us can relate to this, we’re still going to go about our day,” Shaman said. “We’ll still send the kids to school. We’ll still go to work. If we have a little bit of a headache or slight fever, we might take some ibuprofen and still go out shopping and whatnot. It’s that sort of continued contact with people that allows the silent transmission of many respiratory viruses.”
But the model also concluded that even with 90 per cent travel reductions into and out of China, the number of imported cases in other countries still went up significantly in a matter of weeks. The only thing that halted that spread was a 50 per cent or greater reduction of person-to-person transmission worldwide.
Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has just announced the confirmation of five new cases of Coronavirus in the country, making the total number of confirmed cases eight.
Announcing the update via his Twitter handle, Ehanire said “I regret to announce the confirmation of 5 new #COVID19 cases in #Nigeria bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 8”.
Illustration of coronavirus as a respiratory system attack
With the information that the five new cases are said to have travel history from United Kingdom and the United States, the federal government has placed a travel ban on 13 countries worst hit with the epidemic including : China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, United States of America, Norway, United Kingdom, Netherlands & Switzerland.
The Presidential Taskforce on COVID19, with a 12-member committee, chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, took the decision on Tuesday, while travel restriction is said to commence on March 21.
Earlier on Tuesday, the federal government has directed all civil servants to disembark from foreign trips in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
With the Coronavirus pandemic getting more entrenched in Africa and the confirmation of the third case in Nigeria, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and other well-meaning Nigerians have called on the federal government to restrict movement into the country from high risked countries.
Announcing the confirmation of the third case in the country, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, on Tuesday said the new case is a Nigerian who just returned from the UK, tested positive during 14-day self-isolation period.
According to the minister, the woman, who returned from a short visit to UK on Friday, 13 March, proceeded on a 14-day self-isolation, but tested positive on Tuesday, after which she contacted officials of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, and was handed over to the Lagos State Ministry of Health team, which transferred her to the Lagos infectious Disease Hospital.
Dr Osagie Ehanire, minister of health.
Meanwhile, intensive contact tracing has begun, said Ehanire, to trace all persons that have had contact with her, as the British Airways Flight which she bordered has released manifest of passengers on board.
Nonetheless, the NMA President Dr Francis Faduyile revealed the stand of the association regarding the closure of the borders, noting that “ it’s high time the Nigerian government take that decision of closing the border against those countries with a high level of Coronavirus infection.”
Dr Francis Faduyile, president, NMA
Other concerned Nigerians have also bared their minds on the worrisome situation in the country, calling on the government to place restrictions on in flocks of foreigners from high risked countries into Nigeria.
The Nigerians through their Twitter handles reacted to the development below: Olamide Chinunname tweeted thus: “When exactly will Nigeria ban travel from the mostly affected countries? USA banned all incoming flights from Europe. Canada’s borders is opened to only Americans,, Canadians & PR of Canada. These countries have better healthcare facilities than Nigeria”.
Olaga of Benin also tweeted: ”So isnt it time for travel Ban? Until an outbreak that we can’t control? God forbid. Please recommend travel ban from highly affected areas”.
For Najite Okpada, he reasoned along the line of shortage of resources, which will spell doom for Nigeria, if nothing is done urgently. “Is it not time we ban all international flights temporarily? We do not have the resources and per capita income to handle an outbreak”.
Thousands of people have been infected with Coronavirus all over the world, and as the virus spreads and fear grows, people are taking a lot of precautions to keep themselves from contracting it.
Some of these preventive measures are: Working from home, regular hand washing with soap and water, avoiding of crowds, no handshaking, and so on.
Here are five myths about Coronavirus that have been debunked by the World Health Organisation.
Myth: Cold can kill the Coronavirus
What WHO says: There is no reason to believe cold weather can kill the new Coronavirus or other diseases. The normal human body temperature remains around 97.7 F to 98.6 F (36.5 C – 37.0 C) regardless of the external temperature or weather.
Myth: Coronavirus can be transmitted through mosquito bites
What WHO says: This is the South, after all, and those blood suckers will be hungry soon. However, WHO says, to date there has been no information or evidence to suggest the new Coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes. It is a respiratory virus that spreads “primarily through droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose.”
Ten Myths about Coronavirus Debunked by WHO
Myth: Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body will kill the Coronavirus
What WHO says: Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body will not kill viruses that have already entered your body. Not only that, but these substances can be harmful to your mucous membranes (not to mention your clothes). Both alcohol and chlorine disinfect surfaces, but they need to be used correctly.
Myth: Rinsing your nose with saline will thwart the new virus
What WHO says: There is no evidence rinsing the nose with saline has protected people from infection with the new Coronavirus. There is limited evidence it can help people recover more quickly from the common cold, but it has not been shown to prevent respiratory infections.
Myth: Eating garlic can help prevent infection
What WHO says: Garlic has some antimicrobial properties. However, there is no evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people from the new coronavirus.
Myth: Face masks can protect you from the virus
What WHO says: Standard surgical masks cannot protect you from SARS-CoV-2, as they are not designed to block out viral particles and do not lay flush to the face, Live Science previously reported. That said, surgical masks can help prevent infected people from spreading the virus further by blocking any respiratory droplets that could be expelled from their mouths.
Within healthcare facilities, special respirators called “N95 respirators” have been shown to greatly reduce the spread of the virus among medical staff. People require training to properly fit N95 respirators around their noses, cheeks and chins to ensure that no air can sneak around the edges of the mask; and wearers must also learn to check the equipment for damage after each use.
Myth: Getting COVID-19 is a death sentence
What WHO says: That’s not true. About 81 per cent of people who are infected with the Coronavirus have mild cases of COVID-19, according to a study published on 18 February by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. About 13.8 per cent reported severe illness, meaning they have shortness of breath, or require supplemental oxygen, while about 4.7 per cent are critical, meaning they face respiratory failure, multi-organ failure or septic shock. The data thus far suggested that only around 2.3 per cent of people infected with COVID-19 die from the virus. People who are older or have underlying health conditions seem to be most at risk of having severe disease or complications. While there’s no need to panic, people should take steps to prepare and protect themselves and others from the new Coronavirus.
Myth: Kids can’t catch the Coronavirus
What WHO says: children can definitely catch COVID-19, though initial reports suggested fewer cases in children compared with adults. For example, a Chinese study from Hubei province released in February found that of more than 44,000 cases of COVID-19, about only 2.2 per cent involved children under age 19.
However, more recent studies suggest children are as likely as adults to become infected. In a study reported 5 March, researchers analysed data from more than 1,500 people in Shenzhen, and found that children potentially exposed to the virus were just as likely to become infected as adults were, according to Nature News. Regardless of age, about 7 per cent to 8 per cent of contacts of COVID-19 cases later tested positive for the virus.
Still, when children become infected, they seem less likely to develop severe disease, Live Science previously reported.
Myth: If you have Coronavirus, you’ll know
What WHO says: No, you won’t. COVID-19 causes a wide range of symptoms, many of which appear in other respiratory illnesses such as the flu and the common cold. Specifically, common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, and rarer symptoms include dizziness, nausea, vomiting and a runny nose. In severe cases, the disease can progress into a serious pneumonia-like illness — but early on; infected people may show no symptoms at all.
U.S. health officials have now advised the American public to prepare for an epidemic, meaning those who have not travelled to affected countries or made contact with people who recently travelled may contact the virus. As the outbreak progresses in the U.S., state and local health departments should provide updates about when and where the virus has spread. If you live in an affected region and start experiencing high fever, weakness, lethargy or shortness of breath, or have underlying conditions and milder symptoms of the disease, you should seek medical attention at the nearest hospital, experts told Live Science.
Idris Elba, a British actor said he has tested positive for Covid-19. Elba, 47, said he received his test results Monday morning.
So far, the movie star said he feels “okay” and is showing no symptoms, according to a video posted on twitter.
Elba said he had been isolated since last Friday he discovered he was exposed to someone who tested positive to the virus.
Idris Elba
He encouraged people watching to practice social distancing and be diligent about hand washing, stressing that there are asymptomatic people out there, like himself. “Stay home people and be pragmatic,” he wrote.
He added: “Look we live in a divided world right now, but now is a time for solidarity. Now is a time for thinking about each other. There are so many people whose lives have been affected.”
Elba’s wife, Sabrina Dhowre, appeared beside him in his video. Elba said she has not been tested but was “doing okay.”
Elba, who is known for work as Heimdall in the Marvel film universe and recently appeared in “Cats,” said he would provide updates on his condition. “So far, we’re feeling okay. Stay positive and don’t freak out.” Elba is the latest high profile star to share news of his coronavirus diagnosis.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, popular American actor and actress have also announced that they had tested positive for coronavirus last week.
On Sunday, Hanks provided an update on Instagram, sharing a photo of his vegemite and toast set beside a kangaroo toy.
“Thanks to the helpers. Let’s take care of ourselves and each other,” he wrote.
There is a huge misconception about sexuality among elderly women in Nigeria and there are very few publications on this subject matter to make up for the knowledge gap.
However, studies have shown that women above 69 are not sexually dysfunctional, but may engage less often in sexual activity.
In one of the few researches conducted in Nigeria, the sexuality of 100 participants aged 66 – 83 was analysed. In the study, about 50 percent of the women confirmed that they still have desire for sexual activity.
Are Women Above 69 Years Sexually Dysfunctional?
This revealed that old age does not make you asexual, as it will be ignorant of anyone to think so. Your body still retains some of its sexual functions even when you’re past 70 years.
Sexual function should not be confused with sexual activity. The former deals with the stages of the sexual response cycle which include: sexual desire, erection, orgasm and ejaculation. On the other hand, sexual activity refers to the actual intercourse.
The frequency of sexual activity is subject to a number of personal and environmental factors, which include:
Attitude
Marriage status
Physical and mental health
Financial status
Access to performance enhancing medications
Culture
Alcohol use
Attitude: Women who have positive attitude towards their sexuality are most associated with being sexually active past the age of 70.
Unfortunately, most women over the years have developed a negative attitude towards sex. This is heavily linked to societal disposition to tag their interest in sex as undignified and disgraceful.
Individuals who are sexually positive actively decide who and what they want from their sex lives, and that is a privilege society has bestowed on men alone.
In the study conducted in Nigeria, 33.3 percent of women considered sex in the aging population as a taboo while 78.9 percent of men also within the age group considered sex to be safe and pleasurable.
Marital status: In a Swedish study on the sexuality of older women, only 20 percent of the women who were single reported being sexually active past the age of 70, as against 56 percent of married women.
Physical and mental health: A major factor responsible for sexual dysfunction is poor health status. Women with chronic diseases have been found to have reduced sexual activity. Dyspareunia, vagina dryness due to reduced oestrogen and testosterone, have been reported to be a major factor leading to sexual dysfunction in Nigerian women.
This also applies to the women’s partners. Women whose partners have diabetes, coronary heart disease or depression have been found to engage less often in sex.
Financial status: Economic stress triggers a lot of negative emotions in couples which build up to resentment and in turn, affects their sex lives. Most women withhold sex from their partners to show their frustration.
Access to medications: As women age, there are significant changes in their anatomy. After menopause, oestrogen and testosterone levels drop leading to decreased libido and vagina dryness in older women.
Women who can access pharmaceutical enhancers and lubricating gels to solve these sex-related issues will enjoy an active sex life for a long time.
Culture: In regions where sex among the elderly is not seen as a taboo, older women are more likely to enjoy active sex lives. In Nigeria, talking about sexuality problems among the elderly is still frowned at. In the Nigerian study, only 20 percent of women within the age group (66 – 83) have discussed their sexual problems with their partners and none of the women have ever discussed it with a doctor. This is directly linked to the fact that the Nigerian society still does not view a women’s interest in sex (or related issues) as proper.
Alcohol use: This might surprise you but alcohol increases testosterone levels in females which promotes sexual desire. Older women who take alcohol are more open to sexual activities than those who do not. Alcohol relieves stress and its effect on the prefrontal cortex promotes feeling of emotional connection.
The relationship between alcohol and sex is tricky because all these benefits of alcohol are easily overturned if it is taken in excess. If you are a female reading this, you have a better chance than ever to enjoy a satisfying sex life long into your older years. People who are enlightened are more likely to have a positive attitude towards sex.
It is true that there is a significant decline in sexual function as aging occurs but old age does not shut down a woman’s ability to enjoy a healthy sexual life with her partner.
Reference
Adeoti Adekunle Olatayo et al. Sexuality in Nigerian Older Adults. The Pan African Medical Journal. 2015 Dec; 22:315
In their quest for more information about the personality and achievements of the Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Moji Adeyeye, members of the Editorial Team of the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN) Lagos State Chapter, recently paid a courtesy visit to the agency’s office at Oshodi, Lagos.
The Lagos AHAPN Editorial Team members, led by Pharm. Kingsley Ekwunife, editor, and Pharm. Oyinlade Kehinde; with other members in persons of Pharm. Tope Akinboro; Pharm Zainab Alabi; and Pharm. Olanike Shittu, were present at the meeting to discuss with the NAFDAC DG.
Some of the questions asked by the team were centred on DG’s experience in office, challenges encountered so far, NAFDAC’s position on drug insecurity in the country, funding of research in herbal medicine, improvement of local drug manufacturing in the country, compliance level of pharmaceutical companies in the post codeine era, drug abuse, and others.
L-R: Pharm. Tope Akinboro; Pharm. Zainab Alabi; Pharm. Kingsley Ekwunif; NAFDAC DG, Prof. Moji Adeyeye; Pharm.(Mrs) Oyinlade Kehinde; and Pharm. Olanike Shittu, during the visit.
Responding to these questions, Adeyeye narrated her journey since assumption of office, till date, how she inherited a huge debt from the previous administration, which she has been able to clear with the support of her staff members.
Her words: “It was fulfilling and challenging, as I have seen NAFDAC being changed from an agency that was in debt and with poor management of funds and people to an organization that is now fiscally prudent.
“The management is now focused on ensuring that the staff are motivated and disciplined, with a customer-focused and agency-minded culture”.
L-R : Pharm. Kingsley Ekwunife, NAFDAC DG, Prof. Moji Adeyeye; and Pharm.(Mrs) Oyinlade Kehinde, during the visit.
Speaking on her achievements, she explained that as soon as she took over the position in 2017, she inherited a debt of 3.1 billion naira, and now it has all been paid in full.
The NAFDAC DG stated how she changed the administration to a more transparent, accountable and efficient system, and resultant development of a more disciplined and motivating workforce which would have seem almost impossible.
She listed some of the challenges of the agency to include: “Staff strength inadequacy, shortage of operational vehicles, irregular site inspection of foreign manufacturers, working progress in procurement, finance and accounting system”. She however noted that although the challenges are many, but there are measures, such as continuous quality monitoring and improvement to tackle them all.
On the current Coronavirus epidemic, Adeyeye said the agency’s position on drug insecurity gives boost to the need for the country to look inward and come up with the blueprint on increased local production of the majority of our essential medicines.
“We are working assiduously to overturn the current ratio of 70 to 30 percent of imported drugs to local products respectively.
Pharm. Kingsley Ekwunife and Pharm.(Mrs) Oyinlade Kehinde, during the interview session with the NAFDAC DG, Prof. Moji Adeyeye.
“Global collaboration with other nationals and world health regulatory bodies like WHO to address any drug security issue that may arise, is a welcome development. Also encouragement of clinical trials of local new drug entities as drug candidates for the treatment of Coronavirus, is ongoing”, she quipped.
Prof. Adeyeye further spoke on the Pharmacy Bill, describing it as a welcome development which stands to improve Pharmacy education, training and practice in Nigeria, noting that the presidential assent to the bill will give the profession of Pharmacy and indeed the healthcare at large, the much needed progress.
She also mentioned the activities of NAFDAC to curb drug abuse, saying that NAFDAC is collaborating with internal health based organisations and regulatory bodies, such as PCN, NDLEA, CPC, and other stakeholders like PMGMAN, APIN, NIROPHARM, AHAPN in order to sanitize the drug distribution network.
The NAFDAC boss stated that raising the agency’s status to a leading role in Africa and globally is one thing she would love to be remembered for, and also how she has led NAFDAC to at least level 3 ranking in the world that enabled manufacturing of vaccines possible in Nigeria.
Pharm. Ekwunife, appreciated all members of the team for taking time out of their tight schedule to render service to the association.
Following the proliferation of substandard pharmaceutical products in the country, and a large number of pharmaceutical companies not complying with manufacturing rules and regulations, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, has warned on getting rid of these companies.
The NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Moji Adeyeye gave the warning on Thursday during the courtesy visit paid to her office, by the Editorial Team members of The Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria, (AHAPN) Lagos State Chapter.
Adeyeye, explained how she recently visited the United States, and found that USAIDs have decided not to get drugs from Nigeria companies anymore because they are not sure of the quality of the drugs.
Explaining on what high risk pharmaceutical companies means, the NAFDAC boss said they worked something out with Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group (PMG) using World Health Organisation standards, and started an inspection; thereby ensuring companies are manufacturing standard drugs.
She stated that the inspection was to let them know their status and where they stand, noting that they categorized the pharmaceutical companies using 21 indicators.
And as a result of that, they were able to divide the companies into three major categories, namely the low risk companies, the medium risk companies and the high risk companies.
She said low risk company means those involving or exposed to a low level of danger when it comes to manufacturing drugs, and they are not likely to result in failure.
While high level of risk is one where an event is very likely to occur and may cause death or serious harm. She said the medium level of risk is in between these two.
“The high risk means those companies that are manufacturing drugs that are not up to standard”, she stated.
The NAFDAC boss also said that it wasn’t a way of inflicting punishment kind of inspection; rather is to let them know their status, in terms of where they are, and it is their compliance that led to categorizing companies.
She added that so many companies were shocked at this movement, and some were saying a lot of things, but then it is what they have to do. She assured them that it is not punitive; “we want each company to know how to improve,” she added.
She said while some took good opportunity of this development, others were just sitting and doing nothing. “While some of the high risk are doing everything they have to do get to the medium risk, some of the medium risk are doing everything they have to get to the low risk, then there are some high risk that are not responding”, Adeyeye stated.
“The truth is that we are going to delist them because we gave them time to do what they are supposed to do but they refuse to do it and they are supposed to let NAFDAC know when they can come back for the inspection, but there are no response, and if there are no response like this we will delist them,” Adeyeye warned.
The NAFDAC boss however said, although some of the high risk are responding, so that is a good one for the country because there is a higher level of confidence for the company in better awareness of what it takes in having quality medicine.
There has been a seismic shift in the dietary landscape in recent years.Where once fat was the much maligned enemy, now scientists are turning their attention to sugar.There has been a seismic shift in the dietary landscape in recent years.
Where once fat was the much maligned enemy, now scientists are turning their attention to sugar.It is now widely accepted that more must be done to encourage people to reduce their sugar intake.
Image of Sugar
Eating too much sugar can lead to weight gain, which in turn increases the risk of health conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.Sugar causes a spike in blood sugar, which leads to the hormone insulin to be released to take glucose into the body’s cells.But insulin is a storage hormone, encouraging extra calories to be stored as fat.
In a recent study, a team at the University of New South Wales in Australia, also found sugar is ‘as damaging to the brain as extreme stress or abuse’.
The changes we observed to the region of the brain that controls emotional behaviour and cognitive function were more extensive than those caused by extreme early life stress.
The rest we add to tea, coffee and cereal, and other foods we cook.Sugary drinks account for the largest proportion of Australians’ free sugar intake.
A single can or 600ml bottle of soft drink can easily exceed the WHO recommendation, providing around 40-70g sugar. One teaspoon equates to 4.5g white sugar, so soft drinks range from 8.5 to 15.5 teaspoons.
More insidious sources of sugar are drinks marketed as ‘healthier’ options, such as iced teas, coconut water, juices and smoothies.
Some medium-sized smoothies have up to 14 teaspoons of sugar (63.5g) in a 475ml drink.
Flavoured milks are also high in free sugars (11 teaspoons in a 500ml carton) but can be a good source of calcium.Other foods high in sugar are breakfast cereals. While some sugar is derived from dried fruit, many popular granola mixes add various forms of sugar.
Sugar content for one cup of cereal ranges from 12.5g for creamy honey quick oats to 20.5g for granola.
A cup of some types of cereal can contain 30 per cent to 50 per cent of your daily free sugar allowance.A surprise for many is the added sugars in savoury foods including sauces and condiments.
Tomato and barbecue sauce, salad dressing and sweet’n’sour stirfry sauces contain one to two teaspoons of sugar in each tablespoon (20ml).
Popular ‘health foods’ and sugar-free recipes can be particularly misleading as they can contain as much sugar as their sweet alternatives.
Usually this is referring to ‘sucrose-free’ (what we know as white sugar) and doesn’t exclude the use of other sugar derivatives such as rice malt syrup, agave or maple syrup, typical of popular sugar-free recipes.
These are still forms of sugar and contribute to energy intake and unhealthy weight gain when consumed in excess.
We know treats such as chocolate, pastries and ice-cream do contain sugar, but just how much might surprise you.
A chocolate-coated ice cream will contribute five teaspoons of sugar, or almost half the daily limit.
Sugar added to foods and drink can have different names depending on where it comes from. When reading labels, alternative names for sugar include:
sucrose
glucose
corn syrup
maltose
dextrose
raw sugar
cane sugar
malt extract
fruit juice concentrate
molasses
The main ingredient is sugar if any of these are listed as the first three ingredients.
Note that products with ‘no added sugar’ nutrition claims may still contain high levels of natural sugars, also considered as free sugars.
A good example of this is fruit juice: the sugar content of 200ml of sweetened orange juice (21g) is 7g higher than unsweetened juice (14g).
The second case of the Coronavirus disease in Nigeria who tested positive, after having contact with the index case, has now tested negative.
This was disclosed by the Nigerian Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire while giving a live update on the Coronavirus disease in Nigeria.
The patient, an Ogun State contact of the index case, had been isolated after testing positive for the Coronavirus disease four days ago. The patient was one of the 40 staff of Lafarge Cement taken in immediately the index case was discovered.
Dr Osagie Ehanire, minister of health.
He said the person, who had contact with the index case, had no symptoms of the COVID 19, adding that he had not been sick while in isolation.
He also said the index case, an Italian who is receiving treatment in Lagos, would also be discharged next week.
He said: “Between January 7 and March 12, 2020, a total of 42 persons who met our index case have been screened for COVID-19 in Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Yobe, Rivers and Kano states, and the Federal Capital Territory.
“40 tested negative and two were confirmed positive. These two are the index case and a contact with the index case. No death has been recorded.”
For older men, is not out of place for them to make tomatoes their favourite vegetable, as findings have revealed that nutrient found in tomatoes could help ease bladder problems, as well as reduce the expansion of the prostate.
The experts, who published their findings in the Journal Oncology and Cancer Case Report discovered that the chemical lycopene, which gives tomatoes their red colour, can reduce the expansion of the prostate.
According to the report as published on DailyMailOnline, “the gland is wrapped around the urinary tract, and its enlargement in later life can make urinating slow or difficult – a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Image of tomatoes
“The chemical lycopene, which gives tomatoes their red colour, can reduce the expansion of the prostate and help ease bladder problems in older men, experts believe”
The Lead author, Professor Hiten Patel, from the University of Tromso in Norway, said: “We knew lycopene seems to slow down prostate cancer, but now it seems it can slow down the enlargement of the prostate and development of BPH as well.
“We need more research before we can say it should be recommended routinely, but this review is very promising”.
One of the problems highlighted was that lycopene is not easily absorbed by the body. However researchers believe that giving it as a pill could get round this.
It was a time of wining and dining on Thursday at the Pharmanews corporate head office, as the management and staff assembled to celebrate Pharm. Frank Eze, winner, Young Pharmacist of the Year 2019 Online Poll, with a presentation of N100,000 cheque and an award plaque.
The Pharmanews Young Pharmacist of the Year Online Contest was established in 2018, with Pharm. Isah Muhammad emerging as the first winner, while Eze is the winner of the 2019 edition, recently concluded in February 2020.
Pharm. (Sir) Ifeanyi Atueyi, presenting an award plaque to Frank Eze, winner, Young Pharmacist of the Year 2019
Appreciating Eze and his friends for coming over for the celebration, Managing Director, Pharmanews Ltd, Pharm. (Sir) Ifeanyi Atueyi expressed his great delight in meeting the winner for the first time, and also congratulated him for emerging the winner of the very tough contest.
He explained the objective of the online poll was to discover innovation and service delivery among young pharmacists in Nigeria, and to encourage them to expand their reach towards improving healthcare provision in the country.
Pharm. (Sir) Ifeanyi Atueyi, managing director, Pharmanews Ltd (middle); Pharm. Frank Eze, winner, Young Pharmacist of the Year 2019; and his team members of Rethink Initiative, at the award presentation ceremony.
He said: “We started with the Young Pharmacist of the Year, then PANSite of the Year, and now we shall be introducing a new category this year, which is the Outstanding Pharmacist of the Year. This will cover pharmacists from ages 36 to 65, and it is going to be a very keen competition because it has a broad spectrum, to accommodate a large group of pharmacists.
“The goal is to identify and encourage pharmacists who have been recognised within the profession and outside the profession as people of good character, with integrity. We want to recognise people who provide service to the populace because you are known by the service you provide. We also want to identify people with initiative, who on their own think out something unique, because we believe that it is what God has put in you that will make you great”.
The Pharmanews boss described the last contest as a very keen competition which generated interest locally and internationally, as he received calls from outside the country, when there was an attempt to extend the closing date of the poll, due to complaints from some quarters.
Pharm.(Sir) Ifeanyi Atueyi, managing director, Pharmanews Ltd (4th from left); Pharm. Frank Eze, winner, Young Pharmacist of the Year 2019 (4th from right), in a group photograph with some Pharmanews management team members and Rethink Intiative team members at the award presentation ceremony.
He therefore charged Eze to live up to the expectations of his numerous voters, who reposed their confidence in him by giving him their votes. He also noted that being the winner of the prestigious award requires him to improve in all levels of his operation, so that Pharmanews can be proud of him.
His words:”It is our expectation that the winner of this award, should be somebody who is well respected in the society, and the mere fact that he has won this award will make him to sit up, so that we can be proud of the person and the person can be proud of himself or herself, and Pharmanews.
“If you say you are the winner of Pharmanews Award, people should respect you, they should not find you doing questionable things that will make them ask, ‘is that not the winner of Pharmanews Award? Through the open voting system, majority have voted you as the winner, so we congratulate you for the award, and believe that you will bear Pharmanews in mind and continue to promote us, because people promote organisations”, he stated.
Receiving the award plaque and the cheque of N100,000, an excited Eze promised not to disappoint the confidence reposed on him by his voters, and also not to let down Pharmanews expectations for him.
Eze, who dedicated the award to his organisation “Rethink Initiative”, said it was a big honour, which he had long dreamt about, and appreciated the management of Pharmanews Ltd for making his dream come true sooner than he expected.
“Today is a big honour not just to me, but for Rethink Initiative, its being a long way coming, because we have being dreaming of such a day, but we didn’t know that it is going to come so soon. Pharmanews has made it to come so soon, and just like our daddy said, it means that we are going to buckle up, we have to ensure that we become more responsible in what we are doing, towards achieving the objective of the organisation.
“I also want to thank every young pharmacists who have voted us, the Rethink initiative, and I have to tell them that we will not disappoint the confidence they have reposed in us. This award also means that Pharmanews is really concerned that Pharmacy profession in Nigeria is greatly improved. The ultimate is to ensure that quality of lives of the people is improved, which is one of the objective of Rethink Initiative. So it’s an alignment, and being a recipient of this award means that I’m now an ambassador of Pharmanews, so wherever I go, and whatever I do, I must always ensure that I’m found on the positive end not negative.
“It means that whatever I do now that is on the negative, is not only to my detriment, it will also affect the image of Pharmanews. That means I’m going to live up to expectation. The online poll made me realise that young pharmacists are really interested in improving the health of the people, and that was why they had to vote for Rethink Initiative, especially, as it is something that is targeted at improving the health of the populace.
“Our aim is to improve literacy of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria, as we believe that towards the Sustainable Development Goal, that is, goal three, good health and well being for all ages, the prerequisite is literacy”, he disclosed.
He further stated that health advocacy empowers people to know their health status, which in turns enables them plan their lifestyle accordingly to avoid diseases.
when you are aware of your numbers, you are aware that diabetes is real and hypertension is real, then you know that your health is in your hands, then you take the necessary steps to watch what you eat, watch your lifestyle, and ensure you prevent yourself from coming down with these diseases.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Editor, Pharmanews Ltd, Mr Yusuff Moshood also congratulated Eze, and urged him to seek means in improving on his initiative, as that was one of the factors that saw him through the contest as the winner.
The Online Editor, Pharmanews Ltd, Mrs Temitope Obayendo, mentioned the need for Eze and his team members to increase their activities on social media as that will help project their initiative the more.
As Nigerians joined the rest of the world to commemorate the World Kidney Day, usually celebrated on 11 March, members of the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria, AHAPN, Lagos Chapter, have identified abuse of analgesics as a leading cause of kidney disease in the country, aside other known causes.
They listed other established causes of kidney disease to include uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes, drug abuse, consumption of herbal concoction, alcoholic drinks, smoking, and so on. The pharmacists made this remarks at an awareness creation programme on the maintenance of healthy kidney, organised to mark the World Kidney Day, held at the Surulere Local Government Area, Lagos.
Chairman, Lagos State PSN, Pharm. (Mrs) Bolanle Adeniran (middle) with Chairman, Lagos AHAPN, Pharm.(Mrs) Titilayo Onedo, delivering health talk to participants at the programme.
Speaking with the Planning Committee Chairman, World Kidney Day, Pharm. (Mrs) Yewande Olorunsola, she decried the way and manner in which poisonous substances are openly displayed on streets and motor parks by hawkers, which allows easy access to these substances by addicts.
Olorunsola, who called on government to set up a special task force for this reason, said, there is the urgent need to regulate the sales of these herbal concoctions in open places, to reduce cases of people coming down with kidney conditions.
She further explained: “The government needs to step up its special task force for this. Although these hawkers have their own association of traditional medicine dealers, the PSN can also invite their association during the PSN Week, to engage them in discussion regarding the regulation of their herbs, perhaps through them, their customers can be enlightened.
Members of Lagos AHAPN, screening participants at the programme.
“If you visit the dialysis clinic at LUTH, they will tell you that most of the kidney cases they are treating are due to analgesics consumption. Majority of these artisans who work in the sun all day, often complain about body ache, and they just go on to purchase analgesics without prescription. In fact, some of them are in the habit of using Alabukun without diluting it in water.
According to the Deputy Director, Pharmacy Department, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Pharm.(Dr) Modupe Oyawole, indiscriminate usage of analgesics, has been identified as the cause of kidney problem for most of their patients”, she disclosed.
Addressing participants earlier in a health talk at the programme, the Lagos AHAPN Chairman, Pharm. Titilayo Onedo explained means of preventing kidney diseases to the people, while advocating early detection, as most Nigerians can’t afford the cost of managing kidney diseases.
She highlighted some preventive measures to be cultivated to include: regular monitoring of blood pressure and blood sugar, regular exercise, adequate hydration, avoidance of fried foods, abstinence from self medication, avoiding heavy consumption of red meat, abstinence from drug abuse and misuse, eating of healthy foods loaded with fibre, fruits and vegetables, and others.
Onedo further stated that part of the preventive measures is what the association set up for the celebration of the World Kidney Day, at the Surulere Local Government Area, by conducting free urinalysis, screening of blood glucose, blood pressure, Hepatis b, and body mass index.
Pharm. Kingsley, one of the coordinators of the programme, stressed the importance of the kidney in the human body, which makes it very essential for people to check what they consume in order to prevent the kidney from being damaged.
He said: “drugs can damage the kidney, and it is noted that kidney function decreases as one advances in age. One important test all of us must do to know our kidney status is called Systemic Clearance. This will help us plan our lifestyle better.
“If the kidney is not functioning well, what that means is that you’ve not being excreting drugs properly, the side effects will increase and worsen the kidney”, he asserted.
He listed some symptoms of kidney problem to include: Swollen face, legs, stomach, and others.
Speaking with two participants at the screening centre, Alhaja Risi Aromire and Amina Ogunleye, they both appreciated the efforts of the association for the free screening, while the former said her screening results showed that she has high blood pressure, as well as being overweight, the latter disclosed that her results was she is alright.
High levels of sedentary behaviour may increase the risk of death for frail adults aged 50 and older, a new study has suggested.
The Physical Activity Guidelines published in the United States recommends that adults aged 18 to 64 and those aged 65 and older should aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity every week.
For adults who are unable to meet these guidelines, it is recommended that “they should be as physically active as their abilities and conditions allow.”
According to statistics from a 2018 survey, however, just 44.9 per cent of older adults aged 65 to 74 met the physical activity guidelines last year.
What is more, previous research has shown that older adults spend more than nine hours of their day sitting down.
Beware: Prolonged Sitting Worsens Frailty, Death Risk
The harms of sedentary behaviour have been well documented. A study reported by Medical News Today last year, for example, suggested that sitting for more than three hours daily is responsible for more than 430,000 deaths across 54 countries every year.
For this latest study, Dr. Olga Theou, of the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University in Canada, and colleagues set out to determine whether or not frailty plays a role in the increased death risk associated with sedentary behaviour.
The results, as recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, included the data of 3,141 adults aged 50 and older who participated in the 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
As part of the survey, subjects were required to wear activity trackers during waking hours, and the researchers used these data to calculate how much time each adult spent sedentary.
The team also used a 46-item index to assess the frailty of each subject. Frailty is generally defined as an aging-related process characterised by weakness, unintended weight loss, slowness, and fatigue.
Researchers suggest that just one hour of exercise may counteract the health risks of prolonged sitting. Participants were followed up until 2011, or until their date of death.
Among adults who scored highly on the frailty index and did not meet the physical activity guidelines, the researchers found that prolonged sitting was associated with an increased risk of death. This was not the case for adults with low frailty who met exercise guidelines.
“Thus, among people who are inactive and vulnerable or frail, sitting time increases mortality risk, but among those who are non-frail or active, sitting time does not affect the risk of mortality,” say the researchers.
There were some limitations to their study; however for example, the team had limited activity data on adults with higher frailty levels.
“Thus, our sample size was substantially reduced, especially among the group with the highest level of frailty, which made it necessary to merge frailty groups for some analyses and prevented us from isolating those with severe frailty into one category,” the researchers explain.
Still, the authors say that their study further highlights the harms of sedentary behaviour, particularly for frail adults.
“Physicians should stress the harms of inactivity with patients, similar to the harms of smoking, to encourage movement. Even something as simple as getting up and walking around the house with a walker or cane can benefit frailer people,” the study said.
As a way of promoting public healthcare in the country, the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Gbagada Zone, recently conducted a free medical screening for no fewer than 100 police officers and members of staff of the Pedro Police Station, Shomolu, Lagos State.
The free medical screening, which took place at the premises of the Pedro Police Station, Pedro, Shomolu, Lagos, offered opportunity for the officers who are often occupied with responsibility of securing the community to access free health counselling and screening on blood sugar, blood pressure, malaria, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, diabetes among others
According to Pharm. Moyin Oshin, zonal chairperson, ACPN, Gbagada Zone, the programme was organised as a part of the zone’s contribution to improvement in public health, adding that health screening is important because it has been discovered that a lot of people are coming down with chronic disease conditions and health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes and other silent killer diseases as people as some people are ignorant of their health conditions.
L-R, Pharm. Robert Ikwudimso, public relations officer, ACPN, Gbagada Zone, Pharm. Moyin Oshin, zonal chairperson, ACPN, Gbagada Zone, attending to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Pedro Police Station, Mr. Lawrence Iheukwumere.
Explaining further, the ACPN zonal boss noted that regular health examinations and tests can help detect health problems before they become complicated and sometimes untreatable.
“We know the police officers are always busy and they hardly have time for their health, so we have decided as a group to take this campaign to them by telling them how to get the right health services, the importance of health screenings and treatments as well as other important health information. We also organised this programme to further smoothen our relationship as a professional group with the law enforcement agencies in this community because we have had it a bit rough in the past. So it is a good way to start and we are happy it worked perfectly well, as many of them came out en-mass to get screened,” she said
Also speaking with Pharmanews, the deputy zonal chairman, ACPN Gbagada Zone, Pharm. Leonard Ohams, explained that the free medical screening and awareness was organised by the association in partnership with Shalina Healthcare as part of the association’s contribution to improve public healthcare.
Ohams, who dismissed the rumour that community pharmacies in the zone are constantly facing victimisation and harassment by the police, urged the officers to consider their health first in everything they do, adding that looking healthy is not always an indication that one is free from diseases.
A cross-section of the police officers at the programme
While thanking ACPN for the laudable programme, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Pedro Police Station, Mr Lawrence Iheukwumere, said he was delighted that an association like ACPN could come to their police station with such a beneficial programme.
He also debunked the rumour of frosty relationship with the healthcare providers, adding that if the relationship had not been cordial, it would be difficult for them to bring the laudable programme to the station.
He however appealed to the healthcare providers to report any form of drug abuse or fake drug case to the police for proper action, adding that the police and pharmacists could work together to rid the society of fake and counterfeit medicine.
Another police officer, Mr Afees Odunlami, thanked the organiser of the programme for giving him the opportunity to know his health status and the need for him to remain healthy, adding that his job as police officer is not giving him opportunity to have time for medical checkup in the past.
While speaking with Pharmanews, Pharm. Robert Ikwudimso, public relation officer, ACPN, Gbagada Zone, noted that the major health challenge that was common among the people screened were diabetes, high blood sugar and hypertension, noting that lifestyle modification and proper exercise coupled with stress free lifestyle is needed to checkmate the health challenges.
Research carried out in part by an Artificially-Intelligent (AI) ‘robot scientist’ has found that a common ingredient of toothpaste could be developed to fight drug-resistant strains of malaria.
In a study in the journal, Scientific Reports, scientists from Britain’s Cambridge University who used the AI robot to conduct high-throughput screening said the ingredient, triclosan, showed the potential to interrupt malaria infections at two critical stages – in the liver and the blood.
WHO says malaria kills around half a million people every year, the vast majority of them children in the poorest parts of Africa.
The disease can be treated with a number of drugs, but resistance to these medicines is increasing, raising the risk that some strains may become untreatable in the future.
Because of this, the search for new medicines was becoming increasingly urgent, said Steve Oliver of Cambridge University’s biochemistry department, who co-led the work with Elizabeth Bilsland.
After being transferred into a new host via a mosquito bite, malaria parasites work their way into the liver, where they mature and reproduce.
They then move into red blood cells, multiply and spread around the body, causing fever and potentially life-threatening complications.
Malaria Mosquito
Scientists have known for some time that triclosan can halt malaria parasites’ growth at the blood stage of the infection by inhibiting the action of an enzyme known as Enoyl Reductase (ENR), which is involved in production of fatty acids.
In toothpaste, this helps prevent a build-up of plaque bacteria.
In this latest work, however, Bilsland’s team found that triclosan also inhibits an entirely different enzyme of the malaria parasite, called DHFR.
DHFR is the target of the antimalarial pyrimethamine, a drug to which malaria parasites are increasingly developing resistance, particularly in Africa.
The Cambridge team’s work showed that triclosan was able to target and act on this enzyme even in pyrimethamine-resistant parasites.
“The discovery by our robot colleague that triclosan is effective against malaria targets offers hope that we may be able to use it to develop a new drug,” said Elizabeth Bilsland, who co-led the work.
“We know it is a safe compound, and its ability to target two points in the malaria parasite’s lifecycle means the parasite will find it difficult to evolve resistance.”
The Artificial Intelligence robot scientist used in the study – nicknamed Eve – was designed to automate and speed up the drug discovery process.
It does this by automatically developing and testing hypotheses to explain observations, running experiments using laboratory robotics, interpreting the results, altering the hypotheses, and then repeating the cycle.
Eggs are generally known to be good source of protein to the human system, notwithstanding the controversy surrounding them. The divergent opinions of people on the consumption of hard-boiled eggs, is what usually bring up the frequently asked question: how many calories are in a boiled egg?
Reason for the question is not far-fetched, because as knowledge is increasing, the generality of people are becoming more conscious about their health, in order to avert a health emergency, thus they tend to make inquiries for themselves.
Experts from the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed some publications on the topic, and their findings showed that up to one egg per day is not associated with increased heart disease risk in healthy individuals.
They explained that eggs were previously associated with heart disease risk as a result of their high cholesterol content. However, a solid body of research shows that for most people, cholesterol in food has a smaller effect on blood levels of total cholesterol and harmful LDL cholesterol than does the mix of fats in the diet.
Calories in a hard-boiled egg
Contrary to the widespread misconception and fears on the consumption of hard boiled egg, several studies have found that a boiled egg is low in calories and don’t gain any extra calories from frying or added ingredients such as cheese. Categorically, it was stated that one large hard-boiled egg contains 78 calories; however, the calories content of an egg varies with the size of the egg.
Little wonder nutritionists usually advise those monitoring their daily calories intake to go for a small egg, instead of a jumbo size egg, because the smaller the size of the egg, the smaller the calories content. As a general guideline, you will gain about 10 additional calories every time the size of the egg increases from small to medium, large, extra large and jumbo. A small egg has 54 calories and the jumbo-sized egg jumps to 90 calories.
A 2008 report from the Physicians’ Health Study supported the idea that eating an egg a day is generally safe for the heart, it however suggested that going much beyond that could increase the risk for heart failure later in life.
The physicians also cautioned on the addendum to the egg, calling people to the need to check whatever they use in accompanying their egg intake.”You also need to pay attention to the “trimmings” that come with your eggs. To your cardiovascular system, scrambled eggs, salsa, and a 100% whole-wheat English muffin is a far different meal than scrambled eggs with cheese, sausages, home fries, and white toast”.
Egg white versus egg yolk
For people with cardiovascular diseases or diabetes, who have difficulty controlling their total and LDL cholesterol, they are being advised to be cautious about eating egg yolks and instead choose foods made with egg whites. In studies including the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, heart disease risk was increased among men and women with diabetes who ate one or more eggs a day. While this group of patients may not totally rule out egg yolk consumption, the experts view is for them to stick to two to three yolks per week.
Nutritional content of an egg
Aside the several debates on the calories content of a boil egg, the nutritional profile and health benefits of an egg far outweigh the criticism against it. Eggs are an incredibly well-rounded food and contain a wealth of healthy nutrients. Different studies have validated the following nutritional content of an egg.
Protein
Protein is essential for growth, health, and repair. It is also needed to make hormones, enzymes, and antibodies. There are 6 grams of protein in one large egg. The majority is found in the egg white. This is a lot of protein!
The recommended dietary allowance for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For example, a person who weighs 140 pounds (63.5 kilograms) needs about 51 grams of protein per day. A single egg would provide nearly 12 percent of this person’s daily protein needs! You can use this handy calculator from the United States Department of Agriculture to figure out how much protein you need each day to stay healthy.
Fats
About half of the calories in an egg come from fat. One large egg has a little more than 5 grams of fat, which is concentrated in the egg yolk. About 1.6 grams is saturated fat.
Egg yolks also contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The exact amount of omega-3s varies depending on the specific diet of the hen that produced that egg. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation in the body and may lower your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. They are highly concentrated in the brain and have been shown to be important for brain performance (cognition) and memory. Some hens are fed a diet supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids. Look for eggs labeled omega-3 or DHA (a type of omega-3) in the grocery store.
Cholesterol
You may have heard that egg yolks have a lot of cholesterol. The average large egg contains 186 milligrams of cholesterol. It is a common misconception that eggs are “bad for you” because of the cholesterol content. Not all cholesterol is bad. Cholesterol actually serves several vital functions in the body. Most people can eat an egg or two every day without having a problem with their cholesterol levels.
If your cholesterol is already high or you have diabetes, you can still eat eggs in moderation (four to six per week) without any problems, as long as you don’t consistently eat other foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, or cholesterol.
Carbohydrates
Eggs contain very little carbohydrate (less than 1 gram per egg), so they are not a source of sugar or fibre.
Vitamins
Eggs are a great source of B vitamins, especially vitamins B-2 (riboflavin) and B-12.
Vitamin B-12 is used by the body to make DNA, the genetic material in all of our cells. It also keeps our body’s nerve and blood cells healthy, protects against heart disease, and prevents a type of anemia called megaloblastic anemia.
Only animal foods contain vitamin B-12 naturally, so if you are a vegetarian who doesn’t eat meat, eggs are a good way to make sure you still gets some B-12.
Eggs also contain a fair amount of vitamins A, D, and E, as well as folate, biotin, and choline. Most of the vitamins in an egg, except riboflavin, are found in the yolk.
Choline is an important vitamin for the normal functioning of all cells in your body. It assures the functions of cell membranes, especially in the brain. It’s needed in higher amounts during pregnancy and breast-feeding. An egg has roughly 147 milligrams of choline.
Minerals
Eggs are also a good source of selenium, calcium, iodine, and phosphorous. Selenium, an antioxidant, is helpful to protect the body against fee radical damage that has been associated with aging, heart disease, and even some types of cancer.
Takeaway
The bottom-line on this widely asked question: How Many Calories Are in a Boiled Egg? Is not for people to stay away from eating eggs completely, but to limit their eggs consumption to such level that won’t harm their health in anyway, while taking advantage of the health benefits of eggs to their bodies.
A final year student of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Adeleke Adekunle, has taken over from last year winner, Folashade Salako, of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), to emerge as the “Best Pharmacy Brain in the country” after clinching the 2020 Shalina Young Talent Award (SYTA).
The competition, tagged the ‘Biggest Hunt for the Best Pharmacy Brains in Nigeria’ initially saw over 700 Pharmacy students from five universities across the country, which included Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), University of Ibadan (UI), University of Lagos (UNILAG), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, fiercely fought at regional rounds, while the grand finale of the competition had 16 students, took place at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, recently.
Somnath Malakar, Managing Director, Shalina Healthcare Nigeria, Olanrewaju Israel of OAU, first runner up, Adeleke Adekunle of UNILAG, winner, Esther Damilola Olukorede of UI, second runner up, Dr. Rahul Mandlik, Head of Medical Marketing, Shalina Healthcare, Dubai, and Mr. Folorunso Alaran, Regional Marketing Manager (West Africa), Shalina Healthcare at the 2020 Shalina Young Talent Award (SYTA).
The contest, which was more of a horse race seeing sixteen Pharmacy students aiming to outsmart and outwit one another in a bid to win the coveted prize at stake saw young Adekunle cutting an edge over two other contestants from Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) – Israel Olanrewaju, and Esther Damilola Olukorede of the University of Ibadan, to second and third places respectively.
After about three hours of intense competition which saw the sixteen young scholars going for one another’s jugular to garner maximum points through their arguments, debates, case study, open presentations, clinical and pharmacological quiz, mode of dressing and comportment, which formed parts of the criteria that decided the eventual winner, Adeleke Adekunle of UNILAG piped OAU to emerge champion for this year.
In his speech at the programme, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, president, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), commended all the sixteen contestants for putting up good fight and for representing their different schools well, adding that no matter the position they have taken, they should not be disappointed but see it as an opportunity to prepare better next time.
Somnath Malakar, Managing Director, Shalina Healthcare Nigeria, Prof. (Mrs) Glory Ajayi, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos, Adeleke Adekunle, the winner, Dr. Kingsley Amibor, National Chairman, Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN), and Miss Folashade Salako, who was the 2019 winner.
Commending Shalina Healthcare Nigeria for organising such a laudable and innovative programme, the number one pharmacist in the country suggested the company should sustain the initiative to ensure that brilliant and talented young scholars are identified and rewarded. Also adding that the university lecturers too should keep molding the young talents continuously in preparation for their future careers.
Mazi Ohuabunwa, who was ably represented by Dr Kingsley Amibor, National Chairman, Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN), said the programme will contribute immensely to the quality of graduating Pharmacy students in the country.
While speaking with journalists, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr (Mrs) Moyosore Adejumo, applauded the initiative by Shalina Healthcare and urged them to continue the programme and make it even bigger in the coming years.
Also speaking, Pharm. Samuel Adekola, ACPN National Chairman also congratulated and commended Shalina Healthcare for sustaining the laudable initiative, in terms of quality of presentations, the increased number of schools and others.
While speaking earlier, Somnath Malakar, managing director, Shalina Healthcare Nigeria explained that in keeping to its promise made last year to make the programme bigger and better, the company has worked assiduously to increase the number of participating schools from three which were at the inaugural edition to five and the number of participants from nine to sixteen.
He disclosed that at the regional level, Shalina connected directly with over 700 contestants from five schools of pharmacy out of which sixteen finalists emerged for the grand finale, emphasizing that the Pharmacy profession is an integral part of healthcare and it is the company’s desire to partner with them in bringing out future talents for the industry.
Speaking in the same vein, Mr Folorunso Alaran, regional marketing manager (West Africa), Shalina Healthcare, and Dr Rahul Mandlik, head – medical marketing, Shalina Healthcare, Dubai, said the primary objective of the initiative was to groom and nurture the young talents and support them, saying this will, in turn, affect the industry, healthcare sector and country positively.
At the end, the judges – Prof (Mrs) Oluwatoyin Odeku, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan; Prof. Nuhu Danjuma, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State; Prof. Moses Akanmu, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State; Dr Chukwuemeka Ubaka, senior lecturer, department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State; Prof. (Mrs) Glory Ajayi, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos and Dr Rahul Mandlik, head of medical marketing, Shalina Healthcare, Dubai – expressed satisfaction and commended all contestants before announcing the three winners.
The remaining contestants at the second edition of SYTA were Adepoju Moses Ayosunkanmi; Nwakwo Lillian Chinonso; Olukorede Damilola Esther; Ibrahim Ochapa; Yua Torsen Dominic; Igboko Chinenye Stellamaris; Ofidhe Yolemenso; Zainab Bamidele; Sunday Seun Apandaku; Amos Unagbon; Salamat Onini Sadiq; Olumuyiwa Victor Babalola; Edachi David Odoh; Oladayo Israel Olanrewaju; Faid Adekunle Adeleke; and Olufunke Virginia Ojo.
Other dignitaries at the event included Prof. Arinola Joda, senior lecturer, Faculty of Pharmacy, UNILAG; Pharm. Victoria Ukwu, national chairperson, ALPs; Pharm. (Mrs) Bolanle Adeniran, chairman, PSN, Lagos State, represented by Pharm. Babayemi Oyekunle; Pharm. (Mrs) Ejiro Foyibo, deputy president, South, PSN; Pharm. Emeka Adimoha of Shalina Healthcare and Pharm. Laide Soetan, managing director, NHC Pharma among others, Pharm. (Mrs) Funke Awopegba, MD – Funket Pharmacy and Pharm Leonard Ohams, MD- Ohams Pharmacy.
The agitation to replace good fat for bad ones has been on for a while, and majority of the people are already buying into it. However, a recent study conducted by researchers from Ohio State University in Columbus has found that stress eradicates the positive effects of choosing good fats.
According to the study published on Medical News Today, the researchers noted that although opting for “good” fats is a smart health choice, they stated that stress cancels out the associated health benefits.
“It’s more evidence that stress matters,” says lead author Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at the university. She added that their study is the first to show how stress can cancel out the benefits of eating healthier fats.
The American Heart Association (AHA) provide guidelines for consuming fats and note that dietary fats are crucial for the body’s energy and cell growth. In addition, dietary fats protect the organs and keep the body warm.
Dinner cooking ingredints. Raw uncooked salmon fish with vegetables, rice, herbs and spices over rustic wooden background, top view, copy space. Chopping board in center
However, certain fats are better than others. Saturated fats are the ones that can raise bad cholesterol levels in the body, while monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats can lower bad cholesterol levels. These have been deemed the “good” fats.
Fats from foods like fish, nuts, and vegetable oils are of the “good” variety. As a rule of thumb, the AHA noted that the bad fats tend to be solid at room temperature (a stick of butter, for example), while the good fats tend to be liquid at room temperature.
Prof. Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues were aware that diet and tension can change inflammation in the body, which is linked to heart disease, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.
However, they wanted to examine the interaction between stress, diet, and inflammatory markers that they could measure in the bloodstream.
Stress put ‘good’ fat breakfast on par with ‘bad’ fat breakfast
To carry out their investigation, the researchers conducted a study in nearly 60 women, 38 of whom were breast cancer survivors. The women were an average age of 53 years old.
On two different days, the participants visited the university and were randomly assigned to eat one of two breakfasts: biscuits and gravy with eggs and turkey sausage that was mostly made with saturated fat from palm oil, or an identical breakfast made primarily with monounsaturated sunflower oil.
Additionally, the researchers asked the women about their previous day’s experiences, using a Daily Inventory of Stressful Events questionnaire to conclude whether or not the woman was stressed.
The team discounted minor irritants, but they noted stressful situations – such as cleaning up paint a child had spilled on the floor or helping a parent with dementia who resisted help. Prof. Kiecolt-Glaser notes that they are “not life-shattering events,” but they are relatively stressful.
Of the women, 31 had at least one recent stressor at one of the two visits. Additionally, 21 had stressful experiences before both visits, while six women did not have any.
After taking blood samples from the women at multiple times, the team looked at C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A, which are two markers of inflammation. The researchers also evaluated two markers that predict a higher likelihood of plaque building up in the arteries.
After controlling for factors that could skew outcomes – such as pre-meal blood levels, age difference, abdominal fat, and physical activity – results showed that women who ate the saturated fat meal had higher readings in all four negative markers, compared with the women who ate the sunflower oil meal.
However, in the women who had stressful days, this difference vanished, and as such, eating a breakfast with “bad fat” was the same as eating one with “good fat.”
Interestingly, while stress raised levels of the harmful blood markers in the sunflower oil group, stress did not affect the readings for the women who ate saturated fat.
The researchers specifically chose the meal they used for the study because it mimicked a typical high-calorie, high-fat, fast-food meal. Both breakfasts had 930 calories and 60 grams of fat, which is very similar to a Big Mac and medium fries.
Study co-author Martha Belury explains that they know “a less-healthy meal is going to have adverse effects on markers of inflammation, but we wanted to look at this type of meal with different types of fat.”
She noted that research is increasingly pointing to reduced inflammation as a major benefit of eating healthier foods – including following the Mediterranean diet, which is higher in oleic acid from olive oil.
The investigators add that because inflammation contributes to disease over time, when stressed, we should still be careful about what we eat. They conclude:
“These data show how recent stressors and a [major depressive disorder] history can reverberate through metabolic alterations, promoting inflammatory and atherogenic responses.”
Medical experts including the Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora have allayed the fears of citizens who were feeling jittery over the initial sudden increase in the price of protective face masks, in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic in Nigeria.
The practitioners asserted that face masks are not needed except for caregivers working in isolation centres and people living in cities with high volume of the infection like China, Italy, France and so on.
Nigerians with face masks on the street.
Speaking with Pharmanewsonline in an exclusive chat, Dr Titilayo Daudu, a public health practitioner, explained that people living in areas without much risk of the viral disease need not stock face masks, as what is required is regular handwashing with soap and water, with the use of alcohol based hand sanitisers.
She said: “Face mask is basically for only those working in isolation centres, while others need to keep some distance from any suspected case. Shaking of hands, hugging, kissing, should be highly discouraged for now, as they are means of contacting the disease”.
The Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, in the same vein, discouraged handshake for now, as he noted that he practiced leg-shaking with the NIMR DG, Prof. Babatunde Salako on his arrival at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Yaba, Lagos, for a 3-day conference.
Sharing facts about COVID-19 at the conference, he said the most worrisome thing about the viral disease is the ease of spread, not fatality, as the most quoted sources of the spread are the two human palms, “they carry millions of germs unconsciously”.
He listed other sources of contacting the virus to include: “Microphones, podiums, automobile handles, door handles, official and domestic furniture, aside personal human contacts”.
While establishing the fact that an average human being touches his face up to 99 times a day, he urged the practitioners to avoid touching their faces, as the face is a major port of entrance for the virus into the human body.
“You don’t need face mask, if you don’t work in isolation centres or high risk countries like China, Italy, France, etc.”, he cautioned.
Mamora also advised citizens to desist from self-medication, saying if they discover any symptopm of fever, they should see their doctor immediately, because “so much is known and so much is unknown”.
He however lauded NIMR’s management for blazing the trail in the introduction of such capacity building in the area of Neglected and Tropical Diseases (NTDs), as that was the first time such training was taking place in the country, with large number of participants in attendance. He called on other institutions to follow suit and partner with the institute.
Speaking with another practitioner at the conference on the need to wear face mask for the prevention of coronavirus, Dr Emmanuel Kalu, of Malens Diagnostic Centre, Lagos, said wearing of face mask is not necessary for now in the country, “as officials of the FMoH, have assured us that they are on top of the situation, and we can testify to their swift response, even with the confirmation of the second case.
“Personally I think, it was due to panic reaction that moved people enmass in search of face marks, which made the price suddenly jump up. Just like the minister has said, it is not needed for now, except for those caregivers in isolation centres, and other high risk countries”, he remarked.
Pharmanewsonline gathered that there was panic purchase of face masks, immediately the index case was announced, which explained the hike in the price of the protective apparel.
Many Nigerians had taken to their social media handles to narrate their frustration in search of face masks to no avail.
One of them, Julius Bokoru, a Facebook user, took to his page to narrate how it was difficult for him to get a face mask in Abuja, the Federal Capital City, on Friday.
He explained thus: “Drove virtually round Abuja this morning in search of face masks and hand sanitiser. All sold out within a few hours. Na Abuja o, no be Lagos sef.”
Amid the frustration, Kate Ege, another Facebook user, sought recommendations on how she could get the materials in bulk on Friday in Lagos.
The Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora has given more clues about the patient with the second confirmed COVID-19 case in Nigeria, after the announcement of the case by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, Monday morning.
Fielding questions from journalists in Lagos, Mamora disclosed that the patient, who was one of the contacts of the index case, in Ogun State, did not manifest any symptoms, as at the time he was screened.
Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora (middle) in a group photograph with the DG NIMR, Prof. Babatunde Salako, (right); Deputy DG NIMR, Prof. Nkiruka Odunukwe (2nd right); Prof. Oliver Ezechi,(left) and other dignitaries at the conference.
He said: “The new case, as at the time of the screening, was not manifesting any symptoms. There was just a suspicion to screen him and he tested positive”.
Mamora, who assured the Nigerian populace that the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) in collaboration with other agencies is in control of the situation, cautioned the people against speculating rumours.
His words: “There is no cause for alarm, one thing we need to avoid is panic, we should spread facts not fears. People should abide to what they’ve been advised to do, regular hand-washing with soap and water, use of hand sanitisers, maintaining distance to whoever is coughing, and infected persons should take good care of themselves”.
He also mentioned that trailing of possible contacts of the confirmed second case will commence in earnest, as the viral infection is asymptomatic. “One thing about COVID-19 is that it’s not a respecter of anyone, and people can carry it without knowing, that is what we called asymptomatic cases. With this now, we will have to start checking other contacts of the second case that can be identified”.
The State Minister for Health was in Lagos as the keynote speaker for a 3-day training, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) with the theme: “Current Techniques in Effective Laboratory Diagnosis of Neglected Tropical Diseases”, where he declared the conference opened.
Norwegian researchers have measured the stress hormone cortisol in 112 toddlers from 85 different childcare centres in six municipalities, approximately five months after they started attending.
Children with the longest childcare days (8-9 hours) showed increases in cortisol during the day. Cortisol is a hormone that indicates stress. Excessive stress can evoke emotional reactions associated with challenges that the individual does not have the capacity to handle.
Several international studies have previously found that young children have an increased level of cortisol on their full-day childcare days, while the level when they are at home remains steady or declines.
This has led to speculation that childcare settings pose challenges for young children, from being in a large group, managing interactions with other children, to being away from their parents. No studies have examined whether childcare stress has negative effects in the long term. That is simply not known.
Researchers at three Norwegian regional centres for child and adolescent mental health — the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s RKBU Central Norway, RBUP East & South and the University of Oslo — have now found that Norwegian toddlers exhibit an increase in the stress hormone cortisol on their childcare days, with lower levels on their days at home.
Furthermore, this study found that children with the longest childcare days (8-9 hours) were the ones who showed an increase in cortisol during the day. Children who were in childcare seven hours per day or less showed no increase. For both groups, cortisol was measured around 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
These findings indicate a correlation between the amount of time children spend in childcare and their stress levels. This is important information, since most Norwegian one- and two-year olds spend more than 40 hours per week in childcare. It appears that toddlers who have the longest childcare days must mobilize extra resources to handle childcare challenges and/or the long separation from their parents. These children require great understanding from their caregivers and parents.
-Suggests daily walk of seven miles for office workers to beat risk
Scientists from the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, England, have found a relationship between sedentary lifestyle and higher risks of cardiovascular disease. They discovered sitting at a desk for a long period of time every day leads to increase in waist circumference, which is a major predisposing factor to heart disease.
To reduce the risk or prevent this condition, the researchers suggested a seven-miles-walk per day or an equivalent of 15,000 steps per day, to have a zero risk factors.
Although this may sound strange and incredible to company’s employees, but the study published in the International Journal of Obesity, and reported on DailyMailOnline affirmed the authenticity of their findings.
Study Links Office Jobs to Heart Disease
Dr William Tigbe of Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, who led the research, said: “Longer time spent in sedentary posture is significantly associated with larger waist circumference, higher triglycerides (fat in the blood) and lower HDL cholesterol, all adding up to worse risk of heart disease
“The levels associated with zero risk factors were walking more than 15,000 steps per day, which is equivalent to walking seven to eight miles, or spending seven hours per day upright”.
With a 111 population sampled of healthy Glaswegian postal workers who were kitted out with activity monitors for seven days, 55 of them were office workers and 56 delivered post for a living.
Findings showed that those who had desk jobs registered a bigger waist circumference – 97cm compared to 94cm – and approximately one BMI unit difference.They also had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease – 2.2% compared to 1.6% over 10 years.
The research suggests waist circumference increases by two centimetres, and risk of cardiovascular diseases by 0.2 per cent, for every additional hour of sitting on top of five hours.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has recently announced three new suspected cases of Coronavirus have been recorded in the state.
As shared on twitter, the commissioner revealed that the patients have been separated in the containment facility located in Yaba area of Lagos.
According to him, “the patients are from England, China and France. He added that the three were quarantined after being subjected to the Coronavirus test, the results of which are being expected”. He gave no further details about the patients.
Pharmanewsonline reported the first Coronavirus patient last week, when an Italian national tested positive to the infection.
Since its outbreak, the Nigerian government has been making efforts to curtail the possible spread of the virus as most people that had contact with the affected patient were identified and quarantined.
The Lagos government completed an isolation facility in readiness for the treatment of the virus, in case more cases were recorded.
Meanwhile, the commissioner said one of the suspected patients is a Nigerian who visited France for seven days and returned to Lagos days ago. Mr Abayomi said the patient had headache and respiratory symptoms.
“So, because he had been to a country where there is an active person to person transmission, it could be a common cold, but there is a possibly that it could be Coronavirus.
“We are not taking chances, there is active transmission going on in France and we have isolated him,” the commissioner said.
He added that the patients are being tested and they await the result.
The outbreak of the disease in Italy gets worse by the day as a former Iranian deputy foreign minister Hussein Sheikholeslam died after contracting the Covid-19 virus.
The 67-year old diplomat died early Friday morning in a hospital in Iran’s capital city Tehran, Tasnim news agency reported.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described him in a press release as a friend and always fair-minded diplomat.
Sheikholeslam was deputy foreign minister throughout the 1980s and then had roles as Iran’s ambassador to Syria, a member of parliament and was most recently a foreign policy advisor to the Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani.
In Iran more than 3,500 people have been infected with Coronavirus and 107 have died.
Meanwhile, globally, according to the World Health Organisation, WHO, the virus has infected over 95,000 people and killed 3,000 persons since an outbreak was first recorded in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
There is no known cure or vaccine for the virus but health advisories state that people should carry out steps to prevent infection and keep safe. These steps include wash of hands with alcohol-based hand rub or washing them with soap and water regularly and maintaining at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
The main purpose for taking pill is to get well in whatever condition you find yourself, but imagine after taking the medication instead of getting better, the pill actually increases the pain you feel. That may be the case for patients who take opioids – even more so for women, according to groundbreaking research by investigators at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
The researchers identified a mechanism that explains why women may be more vulnerable than men to develop pain in general, as well as to develop pain from opioids specifically.
The cause is a neurohormone, prolactin, known largely for promoting lactation in expectant mothers in their final months of pregnancy and after childbirth.
Study Identifies Hormone Responsible for more pain in women than men
Frank Porreca, Ph.D., associate, department head, a professor of Pharmacology, at the college, and senior author on the study, noted that it always has been understood that women experience some types of pain that occur without injury (known as “functional pain syndromes”) more than men.
The reasons for this never were clearly understood. A possible explanation the researchers explored was the differences in the cells and nerves that send pain signals to the brain in women and men.
The findings suggest new pain-management therapies targeting the prolactin system would greatly benefit women suffering from functional pain syndromes.
“Of all these female-prevalent pain disorders, migraines are among the most common, with about 35 million migraine patients in the United States, and three out of four of those are women. In addition, in fibromyalgia patients, as many as nine out of 10 are women; for irritable bowel syndrome, three out of four are women. When you add up all those women with pain if you can normalize that, this would provide a huge and important impact on medical care,” Dr Porreca said.
He pointed out many of these pain spells are sporadic and associated with triggering events. For instance, he and his colleagues found stress releases prolactin and unexpectedly promotes pain selectively in females.
“These triggering events can be wide-ranging. They can include things like alcohol, fatigue and sleep disruption. But stress is the most common trigger self-identified by patients. That’s where we started our studies—how does stress contribute to female-specific pain or female-selective pain?”
Primary authors on the paper include: Yanxia Chen, a graduate student in Dr Porreca’s lab; Aubin Moutal, Ph.D., a research assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology, working in the lab of Rajesh Khanna, Ph.D., a UArizona professor of anesthesiology, pharmacology and neuroscience, who also is a co-author on the paper; and Edita Navratilova, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pharmacology.
Dr Navratilova says dopamine D-2 receptor agonist drugs that limit prolactin release, such as cabergoline, commonly are used for other diseases, and are not addictive. These drugs, possibly in conjunction with other classes of medications, may help treat those pain conditions in women more effectively without the addictive properties of opioids.
“If we could just reduce the proportion of women who have migraines to the same amount as in men, that would be quite revolutionary,” Dr Navratilova said.
In addition, since publication of their findings, Dr Porreca has been contacted by companies interested in investigating whether an antibody previously associated with breast cancer treatment might be able to be engineered as a therapy to guard against pain in women.
In this exclusive interview with Pharmanews, Pharm. Jonah Okotie, a 1998 pharmacy graduate of the University of Benin, Edo State, expresses concern over the state of healthcare delivery in the country, while urging pharmacists generally to live up to the standard expected of them as healthcare givers, rather than being excessively concerned about financial gain.
Okotie, who is the secretary, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Lagos State Branch, as well as being managing director, Engraced Pharmacy, Alimosho, Lagos, also speaks on the recent reports of mass failure in pharmacy schools and how the situation can be brought under control. Excerpts:
Tell us about your activities and responsibilities as the secretary, ACPN, Lagos State Branch.
Beyond the day-to-day responsibility of overseeing the secretariat, attending to correspondence and engagements in and out with concerned parties – ranging from members to government officials and other stakeholders that affect our practice – I know that working with my very proactive chairman, Pharm Olabanji Obideyi, I have no choice but to be ready for any responsibility that will guarantee members’ well-being, wherever and whenever.
What are the challenges that come with being the scribe of such an important association like the ACPN, especially in a state like Lagos, and what strategies have you been deploying to surmount them?
At the beginning of this administration, the chairman and I sat together to look at the challenges. We asked ourselves what needed to be done and how we were going to do it. The chairman himself was once a secretary of the association. In addition, it has been teamwork all the way, together with other members of the executive and the secretariat staff. It’s a team, not me alone.
Tell us about your pharmacy. How old is it today and how was it at the beginning?
The name of my pharmacy is Engraced Pharmacy and it’s going to be nine years this month. The beginning was truly very humbling. Besides, the fact that I had no pension or payoffs to start with made it tougher. So my first rent was a loan from my friend and big aunty, Sister Lara Fasoranti. My wife, Jimbia Okotie, also gave her all to see to it that it did not only become a reality but that it throve.
Pharm. Jonah Okotie
What would you say informed the choice of location for your pharmacy?
I won’t say I made the choice. It was an opportunity I saw to own a pharmacy – although located a bit inside – which I took. And that brought the opportunity to be located by the bus stop, which was very good for the practice, until the place was sold and we were given only two months to relocate. By God’s grace we got where we are today. It could have been much worse, but we thank God that despite the odds we are here.
Tell us about your relationship with the people of this community and the most common health conditions that bring them to your pharmacy.
My relationship with my people is most cordial, including the medical practitioners and other health personnel around. Truth is I can’t say this ailment is the most common because every day we intervene – from malaria to high blood pressure, to children with referrals to hospitals, public and private.
Nigeria is not favourably ranked by the World Health Organisation (WHO) when it comes to adequate healthcare provision for the citizenry. What can we do as a nation to exit this ignoble rank and get our health sector back to shape?
First and foremost, the heads of government must understand and encourage healthcare as teamwork. A situation where one person wants to be everything is surely not in the best interest of the citizens of the country. Secondly, the attitude of our people to health services must change. They want services but are not ready to pay. Unfortunately, the health insurance that should have been a way to guarantee funding and encourage professionalism is run as a system set up only for medical doctors. Pharmacists are bystanders, according to the NHIS and the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme. I guess the government of the day like it that way.
The outbreak of coronavirus is currently a major health challenge in the world. What do you think Nigeria should do to prevent an outbreak in the country?
Increased health education and putting in place measures to guarantee preventive health practices. Nigeria is gradually becoming a “sleeping giant’; so it is high time we rose to not just our health needs, but that of the world. I don’t see the reason why we can’t position our petrochemical and cotton industries to begin to produce not only face masks but other needed pharmaceuticals to save lives and prevent diseases.
Compare to your days as a pharmacy student, what do you think is responsible for the challenge of “mass failure” among pharmacy students nowadays?
There is mediocrity at all levels. Until we go back to the old practice, where we appreciated and rewarded excellence, what we are seeing is a tip of the iceberg. Lecturers too must be supervised to see that they are doing what they were paid to do. Facilities that are in line with modern day realities such as equipment and tools with not only audio-visual capabilities, also artificial intelligence, should be the order of the day.
Another challenge is our maintenance culture. Our technological capabilities are far behind. Even the light situation is nothing to write home about. It is time we wake up, as we can’t afford to continue to be docile. We have survived this far because we have been improvising at all levels. We can’t continue this way.
As an established community pharmacist, how lucrative is community pharmacy practice in Nigeria?
I was just talking about it earlier today with a colleague. Pharmacy practice is about professionalism. And payment ought to be made for services. Unfortunately, the community pharmacist’s services and activities are seen most times from the prism of merchandising, forgetting that we are dealing with medicines which, in most cases are poisonous, when misused, hence must be treated with care and given only when needed.
Oftentimes, people leave the community pharmacist without a medication, just counselling and guidance, which is not paid for because it is believed the pharmacist has done nothing, forgetting that the ability to know when to and when not to use medications, is one of the things that characterises the community pharmacist. So, by the Nigerian standard, community pharmacy is not lucrative. It only guarantees you a certain minimum, if you are well positioned.
Community pharmacy practice globally is being transformed in line with global trends, requiring practitioners to entrench professionalism and services above monetary gain, in order to achieve excellence in healthcare delivery.
The recent coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The virus has infected more than 90,000 people. COVID-19 has now been reported on every continent except Antarctica.
Last December, reports started emerging that a coronavirus that specialists had never heard of, was seen in humans and began to spread among the population of Wuhan, a large city in the Chinese province of Hubei.
Since then, the virus has spread to other countries, both in and outside Asia, leading authorities to describe this as an outbreak. At the end of January this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the situation to be a public health emergency.
To date, the novel coronavirus — currently dubbed “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2,” or SARS-CoV-2 for short — has been responsible for 78,191 infections in China and 2,918 across 37 other world countries. In China, the virus has so far caused 2,718 deaths. It also led to one fatality in the Philippines.
Coronavirus
But what do we really know about this virus? And how is it likely to affect the global population?
The World Health Organization, has offered to look at the newest studies that have featured in peer-reviewed journals to answer these and other questions from our readers.
What is the virus?
SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Coronaviruses, in general, are a family of viruses that target and affect mammals’ respiratory systems. According to their specific characteristics, there are four main “ranks” (genera) of coronaviruses, which are called alpha, beta, delta, and gamma.
Most of these only affect animals, but a few can also pass to humans. Those that are transmissible to humans belong to only two of these genera: alpha and beta.
Only two coronaviruses have previously caused global outbreaks. The first of these was the SARS coronavirus — responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) — which first started spreading back in 2002, also in China. The SARS virus epidemic primarily affected the populations of mainland China and Hong Kong, and it died off in 2003.
The other one was the MERS coronavirus — or Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus — which emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012. This virus has affected at least 2,494 people since then.
Where did the virus originate?
When humans do become infected with a coronavirus, this typically happens via contact with an infected animal.
Some of the most common carriers are bats, although they do not typically transmit coronaviruses directly to humans. Instead, the transmission might occur via an “intermediary” animal, which will usually — though not always — be a domestic one.
The SARS coronavirus spread to humans via civet cats, while the MERS virus spread via dromedaries. However, it can be difficult to determine the animal from which a coronavirus infection first starts spreading.
In the case of the new coronavirus, initial reports from China tied the outbreak to a seafood market in central Wuhan. As a result, local authorities closed down the market on January 1.
However, later assessments have since suggested that this market was unlikely to be the single source of the coronavirus outbreak, as some of the people infected with the virus had not been frequenting the market.
Specialists have not yet been able to determine the true source of the virus or even confirm whether there was a single original reservoir.
“We don’t yet know [what the specific source of SARS-CoV-2 was]. Researchers in China are studying this but have not yet identified a source.” Their spokespeople said.
3. How is the virus transmitted?
While it likely originated in animals, the transmission of the new coronavirus from person to person can occur, though some questions about its transmission remain unanswered.
According to the WHO spokespeople who responded to Medical News Daily team queries, “researchers are still studying the exact parameters of human-to-human transmission.”
“In Wuhan at the beginning of the outbreak, some people became ill from exposure to a source, most likely an animal, carrying the disease. This has been followed by transmission between people,” they explained, adding:
“As with other coronaviruses, the transmission is through the respiratory route, meaning the virus is concentrated in the airways (nose and lungs) and can pass to another person via droplets from their nose or mouth, for example. We still need more analysis of the epidemiological data to understand the full extent of this transmission and how people are infected.”
In a press briefing from February 6, WHO Consultant Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said that, for now, “We do know that mild individuals shed virus, we know that severe individuals shed virus. We know that the more symptoms you have, the more likely you are to transmit.”
In their “Q&A on coronaviruses,” the WHO states that “the risk of catching COVID-19 from someone with no symptoms at all is very low.”
In an interview for the JAMA Network also broadcast on February 6 Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that based on data that they have received from Chinese specialists, the new coronavirus’s “incubation period is probably between 5 and 6 — maybe closer to 5 days.“
That is, the virus likely takes about 5–6 days to give rise to symptoms once it has infected a person.
Although the WHO note that experts estimate the new virus’s incubation period may last anywhere between 1 and 14 days, they suggest in their coronavirus Q&A section that the most likely duration is about 5 days.
Since then, however, other specialists have cast doubts over this idea, citing inconclusive evidence.
Immediate allergy reaction (type I allergic reaction) is:
a) An allergic or immune response that begins within a period lasting from a few minutes to about an hour afterexposure to an antigen to which the individual has been sensitized
b) An allergic reaction that becomes apparent only hours after contact
c) An allergic reaction that results from the formation of antigen-antibody complexes between a foreign antigen and IgM or IgG immunoglobulins. (It occurs during blood transfusion reactions and in hemolytic disease of the newborn)
d) An allergic reaction that is due to the presence of elevated levels of antigen-antibody complexes that cause tissue damage
Following the ban placed on exportation of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients(APIs) by the Indian government on Tuesday, as the Wuhan Coronavirus continue to spread like wildfire around the globe, the President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria(PSN) Pharm. (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa, has called on the Federal Ministry of Health(FMoH) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to constitute a task force to wade into the issue, which is fast degenerating into a matter of national health insecurity.
Contrary to the information making rounds that there is demotion of students in Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Calabar (UNICAL), the Dean of Pharmacy Faculty, Prof. (Mrs) Mbang Femi-Oyewo, has described the news as fake, lacking authentic source.
Pharmanewsonline garnered that the news circulating on social media as published on Operanewsapp with the headline “University of Calabar: The faculty of Pharmacy demotes all year 3 and year 4 students to year 2”, indicated that due to a change in the “academic curriculum of the faculty of Pharmacy, from Pharm-D to Pharm-B in her quest for accreditation, students in higher classes (400L & 300L) have been instructed to start afresh from 200L with the new academic”.
Entrance to UNICAL
Investigating this development, Pharmanewsonline in a telephone conversation with Prof. Femi-Oyewo, learnt that the said publication was false, as she noted that no official of the faculty non the university has made that information available to them on official ground, as it is still subject to approval by regulatory agencies.
“It is fake news, as a lot of fake news thrive on social media now a days, without authentic source. There is no official statement from the school to that effect as the faculty is yet to take a decision on that. So when we are ready to decide on it, after being accredited by the NUC, we will make our official statement to the public”, she stated.
The Dean of Pharmacy Faculty, UNICAL further explained on the situation: “Although we are trying to switch from B.Pharm to PharmD, which will be to the advantage of students, however, we are still awaiting clearance from the National Universities Commission and the university management.
“It appears some students are jittery over the intended transition programme, but it has not been authenticated, and we don’t want anyone to make false claims on our behalf, until we get approval from the NUC, PCN and the school management”, she quipped.
Speaking with students on the intended transition, some expressed their support for the change, provided it will boost their overall career positively.
For Akpaso Ikanke-Abasi, outgoing president, Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students (PANS) UNICAL, the decision is yet to be taken, as approval is being awaited.
She said: “The NUC and PCN haven’t come to make any final decision yet. So we’re all waiting before we can conclude on any news. My expectation is to have the faculty accredited and for us to graduate at the right time”.
Another student of the faculty, who preferred to speak on the ground of anonymity, also applauded the development, and urged the faculty to hasten the process, if it going to be or not, for students to know their fate in time.
His words: “It’s a very good development for us, here at UNICAL regarding the fact that the world is moving towards the PharmD trend. My expectations are simple, I just want the school and the faculty to put all hands on deck to pull this new development off”, he noted.
Several studies have shown that heart disease accounts for nearly one-third of all deaths, and this happens due to the kind of food that goes into the body. Nutritionists’ have validated it at various instances that diet plays a major role in heart health and can impact your risk of heart disease.
Ensuring to include healthy diet, along with exercising, can reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease significantly. Not only does a healthy diet help sustain a healthy weight, but it will also lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Studies carried out at Cornell University and published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry have found 6 healthy foods that you should be eating to maximize your heart health.
1. Leafy Green Vegetables
Leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale and collard greens are well-known for their wealth of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
In particular, they’re a great source of vitamin K, which helps protect your arteries and promote proper blood clotting
They’re also high in dietary nitrates, which have been shown to reduce blood pressure, decrease arterial stiffness and improve the function of cells lining the blood vessels.
Analysis of eight studies found that increasing leafy green vegetable intake was associated with up to a 16 percent lower incidence of heart disease.
Whole Grains
Whole grains include all three nutrient-rich parts of the grain: germ, endosperm and bran.
Common types of whole grains include whole wheat, brown rice, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat and quinoa.
Compared to refined grains, whole grains are higher in fiber, which may help reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart disease.
Analysis of 45 studies concluded that eating three more servings of whole grains daily was associated with a 22 percent lower risk of heart disease.
Similarly, another study found that eating at least three servings of whole grains significantly decreased systolic blood pressure by 6 mmHg, which is enough to reduce the risk of stroke by about 25 percent.
The researchers however cautioned consumers on what to look for when purchasing whole grains. “Make sure to read the ingredients label carefully, phrases like “whole grain” or “whole wheat” indicate a whole-grain product, while words like “wheat flour” or “multigrain” may not”, they said.
3. Walnuts
Walnuts are a great source of fiber and micronutrients like magnesium, copper and manganese. Research shows that incorporating a few servings of walnuts in your diet can help protect against heart disease.According to one review, eating walnuts can reduce “bad” Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by up to 16 percent, lower diastolic blood pressure by 2–3 mm Hg and decrease oxidative stress and inflammation.
Another study in 365 participants showed that diets supplemented with walnuts led to greater decreases in LDL and total cholesterol.
Beans
Beans contain resistant starch, which resists digestion and is fermented by the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
The study shows that resistant starch can improve heart health by decreasing blood levels of triglycerides and cholesterol.
Multiple studies have also found that eating beans can reduce certain risk factors for heart disease.
In one study in 16 people, eating beans reduced levels of blood triglycerides and “bad” LDL cholesterol.
One review of 26 studies also found that a diet high in beans and legumes significantly decreased levels of LDL cholesterol.
What’s more, eating beans has been linked to reduced blood pressure and inflammation, both of which are risk factors for heart disease.
5. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are loaded with lycopene, a natural plant pigment with powerful antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help neutralize harmful free radicals, preventing oxidative damage and inflammation, both of which can contribute to heart disease.
Low blood levels of lycopene are linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke
The study showed that a high intake of foods rich in lycopene was associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.
Another study in 50 overweight women found that eating two raw tomatoes four times per week increased levels of “good” HDL cholesterol.
Higher levels of HDL cholesterol can help remove excess cholesterol and plaque from the arteries to keep your heart healthy and protect against heart disease and stroke
6. Garlic
For centuries, garlic has been used as a natural remedy to treat a variety of ailments. In recent years, research has confirmed its potent medicinal properties and found that garlic can even help improve heart health.
Thanks to the presence of a compound called allicin, which is believed to have a multitude of therapeutic effects. According to the study, taking garlic extract in doses of 600–1,500 mg daily for 24 weeks was as effective as a common prescription drug at reducing blood pressure.
One review compiled the results of 39 studies and found that garlic can reduce total cholesterol by an average of 17 mg/dL and “bad” LDL cholesterol by 9 mg/dL in those with high cholesterol.
Garlic extract can inhibit platelet buildup, which may reduce the risk of blood clots and stroke.
Be sure to consume garlic raw, or crush it and let it sit for a few minutes before cooking. This allows for the formation of allicin, maximizing its potential health benefits.
Companies , organisations and, in this context , pharmaceutical ones, typically appraise or review the immediate year past to find out what worked and what didn’t.
The whys, the hows, the whats – so many questions asked. All is centered on adopting a new or maintaining the old strategy to ensure that by the last quarter of the new year, expectations are met or, better still, exceeded.
However, one area many organsations still get it wrong is in the area of personnel deployment. If you have round pegs in square holes, forget about meeting up with the numbers for that year.
Nothing could be more satisfying than having a medical representative that has the right attitude to work even if he or she doesn’t score 100 per cent in the aptitude test. Unfortunately, many Human Resource Managers in pharma companies rely more on verbal than non-verbal cues in conducting personality assessment test on the prospective intakes. It is believed that once the potential candidate scores very high in the aptitude test, he or she will be a good medical representative. This is where the gap is and if there is an area that your organisation needs to look into, it is in your recruitment processes.
New era, new approach. Let me say emphatically here, it’s a new decade and you need to step up to its demands. If you are yet to adopt handwriting analysis as part of your recruitment process, then its either your HR manager is not up-to-date with global best practices or you are simply comfortable with mediocrity. The reason someone is not changing it is because he or she is choosing it.
For those who have been following this column for some time now, we have stated clearly how powerful the handwriting is in revealing so much more about the personality of an individual more than the mouth can say. If the handwriting had no uniqueness, then everybody would write exactly the same way. Yet, it is a fact that no two handwritings are the same – the basis for which handwriting analysis serves as a reliable tool in personality assessment without the individual uttering a word.
Correct statements about magnesium include all of the following, EXCEPT:
a) Magnesium is mainly an intracellular cation, and is the fourth most abundant cation in the body
b) The recommended dietary amounts of magnesium have been set at 6 mg/kg day (350-400 mg)
c) The most common specific causes encountered in clinical practice are: diet, alcoholism (drinking), diarrhea and malabsorption, diabetes mellitus, diuretics, and drugs such as aminoglycosides and amphotericin
Of all the business functions, it is only the sales function that brings in money into the coffers of the firm. It is clear then that for any organisation to achieve its objectives, be it accelerated growth, survival, diversification, increased profitability/market share, the salesmen must be performing well on a consistent basis.
The overarching responsibility of a sales manager is to achieve and exceed sales objectives by ensuring that every member of the team achieves or surpasses his or her respective objectives. Of course, there have been major strides in helping sales people become stronger with sales enablement programmes, training and automation. Yet, the fact remains that selling is about people. Having great sales managers is still the foundational piece to making your sales department perform. I would rather have a great sales manager and seven mediocre sales reps than a mediocre sales manager and seven-star sales people.
If you are a sales manager and want to be a STAR or you are the CSO and want to build a STAR sales department, here are the six essential skills required for your success and the success of the entire sales team.
Pharm. Tunde Oyeniran
Committed people-developer
The most important truth a sales manager must realise and accept is that he depends on others – his reps – for his results and performance. Consistent performance and growth can only come from consistent growth and development aggregate of his team members. He needs to make them continuously better by reviewing each of their performances, identifying key areas for improvement, coaching, counselling, improving knowledge / skill level, training personality improvement, etc.
Coaching is the number one sales management activity that drives sales performance. The goal of coaching is to help each sales rep to improve their performance and reach their true potential. It’s about developing your “A” sales people to become “A+” and developing your “B” sales people to become “As”. A sales manager with great coaching skills will not only see improved sales performance, but will have better sales rep engagement, reduced turnover and improved job satisfaction.
Leadership
The major components of the leadership gene are drive and passion, a strong desire to lead, high integrity index, self-confidence, intelligence and possession of relevant knowledge. Sales managers need to be strong leaders. The key to developing a strong sales team is for sales managers to be able to create and share a vision with their sales team. Strong sales leaders have the skill and the will to help their team adopt the vision and keep them focused on working towards achieving it. Sales leaders require the ability to communicate, innovate, inspire and set the tone for the sales team.
Productivity and performance management
There are many definitions of performance management. I don’t see performance management as conducting quarterly business reviews, managing non-performing sales reps and managing your boss. Rather, at the heart of this for a sales manager is that the rep delivers daily on what is expected of them, in terms of daily call rates, market development, relationship building, market intelligence, etc. A manager must not make any assumptions about it. Of course, this is measured by financial and non-financial outcomes.
It is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS for performance issues to go unchecked, as sales and team morale can be negatively affected. Many sales managers shy away from confronting salespeople who are not performing. It is up to the sales manager to have planned and unplanned checkpoints to address performance issues and develop a plan of action to correct the problem.
The star sales manager continually raises the bar on performance. As a manager, you must not forget that (i) whatever you want done must be measured; (i) if you want it done well, it must be supervised; (iii) tracking performance is the insurance and assurance against complete failure (don’t wait till your people have completely failed – it doesn’t benefit you in any way).
Another part of performance management is to proactively communicate to your boss when performance issues arise, and to have a solution in place.
Sales planner and strategist
People carry on with the idea that all you need to do is to start selling once you decide you want to sell. Like “Just do it” action drive. Wrong. Selling requires planning and strategy, as there are often many options available to achieve one particular sales objective.
What product (or group of products) will give you the best shot? What region? What customer type? Which customer or set of customers? The sales manager needs to be good at objective setting, assigning the responsibilities as per the resources, providing alternative steps in case of crisis, managing coverage, gathering information from distributors/retailers to assess the actual market potential, as well as designing and managing customer contact programmes.
Every day, nay, every second, he has many things to do, all appearing urgent. In this regard, he must have prioritisation and time management skills. Where are the critical junctions, turning points and rate-limiting steps?
Business acumen
Business acumen is defined as the critical business thinking required to achieve your sales objectives. Simply put, business is about best orchestration of resources to get the maximum profit and longevity for the business entity. The business environment demands that both sales reps and managers have strong business skills. Sales managers need to be able to understand complex business issues and help their sales reps view their business strategically.
Managers need to realise that every of their actions and decisions either brings in money/profit or loss. Sales managers need to teach their salespeople how to make wiser decisions, plan better, and effectively allocate their resources based on customer needs and potential for growth.
Interpersonal and relationship skills
This is necessary to relate with their team-members, customers, stakeholders, bosses, peers, and other. A strong ability to build relationship and bridges is a sure instrument for outstanding success for a sales manager. In fact, once you are made a manager, over 80 per cent of your success will come from your interpersonal skills. Excellent communication skills, emotional intelligence, focusing on long-term benefits, paying attention to others, being aware of your environment/organisational culture and understanding the big-picture are some of the building blocks for developing and maintaining relationships
Conclusion
Sales managers who master these six essential sales management skill sets will always be on the podium and have the top performing team.
We have these programmes running in March: Doing More With Less: Personal Effectiveness for Sales Leaders/Managers; The Pharmacy Technician in The Contemporary Health Care System; Leading and Managing Pharmaceutical Sales Teams For Exceptional Performance and Professional Pharmaceutical/Medical Sales Representation Course. For more information, contact us via 08029606103(Call/SMS/WhatsAppy) or ekiniwhitetuliptraining@gmail.com
The Ogun State Government and Lafarge Africa have confirmed that contacts in respect of the recorded single case of Coronavirus (Covid-19) has hit 39 from the initial reported 28.
These include the driver who picked the infected Italian from a hotel in Ikeja and those who served him food and drink.
Contrary to the reports going round in the media that the production lines of Lafarge Africa PLC, Ewekoro have been closed following the visit of the Coronavirus-infected Italian to the company’s guest house, the management of Lafarge and Ogun State Government have debunked the closure of the cement production lines.
The Ogun Government and Lafarge Africa confirmed this development at the Lafarge facility during an on-the-spot-assessment by the host state government, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), World Health Organisation (WHO) teams and the Industrial Director of Lafarge plc.
Illustration of coronavirus as a respiratory system attack
The Ogun Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, commended Lafarge Africa for the quick and proactive measures taken so far.
She noted that it was imperative for the state and federal governments to swing into action to contain the spread of the deadly disease.
The commissioner said that the state government had activated an Emergency Operation Committee (EOC) to manage any development that may arise from the reported cases of Coronavirus.
“We are on top of the situation. There is no cause for alarm. Our health educators are busy with advocacy efforts on the field. We are sensitising our health officers too on preventive measures to adopt.
“We have all the required interventions to contain the situation. Members of the public should remain calm,” the commissioner said.
On its part, the company said that its production lines were not shut as the guest house where the Italian was lodged is 5km to the manufacturing plants in Ewekoro.
The Industrial Director, Lafarge Plc, Segun Soyoye, said the Italian came to Lafarge facilities at Ewekoro to inspect some installations of machines bought from a Swedish firm.
Mr Soyoye added that the Italian did not go behind Lafarge guest house at Ishofin estate before he was evacuated having developed abnormal temperatures that suggested he had been infected with Covid-19.
“The Italian came for a business visit. He was in Lagos on Monday and slept at Airport Hotel, Ikeja. Our driver took him there, and when we observed abrnomal temperatures and symptoms, we quickly instituted an Emergency Response Team which is led by the Company CEO; we have to find a way of analysing and identifying not only the Italian but also the other contacts.
“The contacts are now 39 and we have quarantined them, the house and clinic as well as the vehicles. We don’t take chances that is why they are put there.
“Today (Saturday) is Day 3; they will be there for 14 days. We will continue to observe them, we have their database, showing their biodata and other information.
“The doctor is here and what he is doing is to check them on a regular basis. So far everybody is stable, they are not symptomatic, we are providing everything for them over there.
“The other thing that I have not said is that the clinic that was used for the infected person is closed, disinfected and we moved everybody out.
“All the guys on duty that day, they were also quarantined, so they will be there for 14 days as well,” Mr Soyoye said.
Also, Ibrahim Mamadu, the Team Leader of World Health Organisation (WHO) Nigeria, also commended the internal processes undertaken so far by Lafarge Africa to contain the deadly disease.
He, however, advised the company and others to acquire digital thermometers to check body temperatures instead of infrared thermometers for accurate body temperature readings.
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria ACPN, Lagos State Chapter has called on the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), to step up her regulatory activities in ensuring that the practice environment is sanitized, as anything short of this would lead to massive non-registration of members with PCN by next year.
The Chairman of the association, Pharm. Olabanji Benedict Obideyi gave the stern warning during the association’s 2019 annual general meeting in Lagos recently.
According to him, the new tariffs of fifty percent increase across board which was recently rolled out by the Council was arbitrarily done without due consultation with parties involved, adding that PCN has not lived up to expectation in sanitizing the practice environment in line with promise made when similar exercise was undertaken in 2014.
L-R: Pharm. Jonah Okotie, secretary, Pharm. Olabanji Benedict Obideyi, chairman; and Pharm. Charles Oyeniyi, assistant secretary at the AGM.
He added that the association would have directed its members to ignore the payment of the hiked fees, but dropped the idea due to the intervention of council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria.
“For us to have a sanitized practice environment, Pharmaceutical Inspection Committee (PIC) activities must be at its peak and for this to happen, both the logistics and personnel problems bewildering the PCN must be tackled. I am aware Lagos PSN has provided a vehicle to aid their activities, so that the challenge of not doing monitoring regularly would be solved. Therefore, we at ACPN are also considering doing something along this line too,” he said.
Speaking on the Lagos State Health Service Insurance Scheme, which allegedly denied pharmacists and some healthcare providers in the State from participating as providers, Obideyi described the concept as being good, saying it is aimed at making healthcare services affordable to all and sundry, but noted that its implementation is fraudulent.
A cross-section of dignitaries and participants at the AGM
“Like I have always said, the scheme was fashioned after the National Health Insurance Scheme, which is a failure, and this is also a failure too, but we are still very much open to dialogue if the government is ready and we are making some moves to meet the commissioner for health in that regard. For now, the resolution at our AGM still stands that no member shall participate as a provider until all the issues around these scheme are resolved”, he quipped.
The highpoint of the programme was the re-election of executives of the association for another year. They include: Pharm. Olabanji Benedict Obideyi, chairman; Pharm. Lawrence Ekhator, vice-chairman; Pharm. Jonah Okotie, secretary; Pharm. Charles Oyeniyi, assistant secretary; Pharm. George Agbude, treasurer; Pharm. Obiageri Ethel Ikwu, financial secretary; Pharm. Mosunmola Dosunmu, public relations officer; and Pharm. Paul Owolabi, editor-in-chief.
A preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 72nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, 25 April to 1 May 2020, has shown that grandmas and grandpas who experience day time somnolence may be at risk of developing new medical conditions, which include diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure.
The condition called hypersomnolence is defined as excessive daytime sleepiness even after having seven or more hours of sleep. It can be debilitating for some people, affecting the way they perform at work and in other daily activities.
“Paying attention to sleepiness in older adults could help doctors predict and prevent future medical conditions,” said study author Maurice M. Ohayon, M.D., Ph.D., DSc, of Stanford University in Stanford, Califonia, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “Older adults and their family members may want to take a closer look at sleeping habits to understand the potential risk for developing a more serious medical condition”.
Daytime Sleepiness in Elderly linked to Diabetes, Cancer, Others
The study involved 10,930 people; 34 percent of participants were 65 years or older.
Researchers interviewed participants over the phone two times, three years apart. In the first interview, 23 percent of people over 65 met the criteria for excessive sleepiness. In the second interview, 24 percent reported excessive sleepiness. From the later group, 41 percent said sleeping too much was a chronic problem.
The study found that people who reported sleepiness in the first phone interview had a 2.3 times greater risk of developing diabetes or high blood pressure three years later than those who did not experience it. They were also twice as likely to develop cancer. Of the 840 people who reported sleepiness at the first interview, 52 people, or 6.2 percent, developed diabetes compared to 74 people, or 2.9 percent of those who were never sleepy during the day. Also, of the 840 people who reported sleepiness, 20 people, or 2.4 percent, developed cancer compared to 21 people, or 0.8 percent of those who were never sleepy during the day.
The results remained the same after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect daytime sleepiness, such as gender and sleep apnea.
People who reported daytime sleepiness during both interviews had a 2.5 times greater risk of developing heart disease.
People who reported sleepiness only in the second interview were 50 percent more likely to also have diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, such as arthritis, tendinitis and lupus, than those who did not have daytime sleepiness.
A limitation of the study was that it relied on participants’ memories, rather than monitoring their sleep length and quality and daytime sleepiness in a sleep clinic.
Time is life. Life is time. Time is fair. Life might not be fair, but time is. Time should be invested, not abused because we have limited time to spend on this journey of life, these were facts we established in part one of this topic.
In my last article, we also established time wasters like social media, distractions and procrastination that are eating deep into our productivity and performance. One major strategy I revealed in becoming more effective and efficient is to avoid time-wasters and focus on our focus every moment of the day.
There are three fundamentals you must have at the back of your mind to become an effective time-manager. These are:
Pharm. Sesan Kareem
Self-awareness
Self-awareness leads to self-actualisation. What you can’t define, you can never find. Who are you? What shapes you? What makes you tick? Why do you do what you do? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What activities do you engage in that make time fly? Have you discovered your passion, gift, calling or purpose? When is your premium time? The first step towards becoming an effective and creative human being, who is a high performer and game-changer, is to be fully aware of your personality, passion and purpose. There is a worthy price for discovery. Know thyself fully.
Self-motivation
Self-motivation is the building block of confidence and resilience. These two ingredients are essential for success in the recipe of life. What keeps you going? How hungry are you to achieve your goals and vision in life? How often do you pick yourself up after making a mistake or recording temporary failure? How committed are you to raising your standard? Have you burnt your boat? A man whose source of motivation is from within has no limitation and there is no barrier whatsoever that can stop him from winning in the race of life.
Stress management
In our world where almost every adult is complaining of stress despite the advancement in science and technology, those who have mastered themselves and are effective time-managers will always feel relaxed, calm and collected. Are you busy or productive? How well are you balancing life and work? How easy do you complain, blame or get frustrated? Are you in charge of your life or not? When you are in charge of your time, you are in charge of your life. When you are in charge of your life, you can never be overwhelmed.
To become an effective human being, excellent time-manager and enjoy a good life with all its benefits, you must know who you are, become self-motivated and manage stress.
Time management techniques
There are a few things you can do right now that will immediately enhance your time-management skill. These are
Set goals
Goals give us direction on what to do, when to do it and how to do it. By setting daily, weekly, monthly or yearly goals, you automatically focus your attention and time on your deliverables. When you set crystal clear goals that you are highly motivated to achieve, you have no time for distractions. You begin to have a fast tempo for action and a bias for results. Setting goals also helps you to review your performance and measure your results. What is measured is what can be improved.
Set priorities
You must major the major and minor the minor. Always make the main thing the main thing. You must focus your energy on what is important that will guarantee you best results. Out of your daily goals, tasks or activities which ones will grant you the best return on your effort? Prioritise those activities, tasks or goals. Put first thing first. Eat the fat frog first thing in the morning. Be smart.
Schedule your activities
It is what is scheduled that is being done. Plan the next day, next week, next month and next year ahead. Do not procrastinate. Set a date and time for your action plans. Be ahead of the game. Create a milestone. Budget your expenses ahead. Commit to follow your schedule. Do not settle for less. Be disciplined.
Studies have shown that highly successful people set goals, prioritise their activities and schedule their time effectively. You can fast-track your success, if you also apply these three techniques. The good news is that you can start applying them right now.
ACTION PLAN: Develop your self-awareness. Learn how to be self-motivated. Always strive for calmness, tranquillity and serenity. Set daily goals that will guide your action. Do first thing first. Schedule your activities ahead.
AFFIRMATION: I am an excellent time manager. I am blessed and highly favoured.
Sesan Kareem, a management consultant helps organisations and their workforce to build a culture of excellence, performance, productivity and profitability.
Protein
