{"id":7276,"date":"2013-07-28T22:39:59","date_gmt":"2013-07-28T22:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/no-corona-virus-in-lagos-says-govt\/"},"modified":"2013-07-28T22:39:59","modified_gmt":"2013-07-28T22:39:59","slug":"no-corona-virus-in-lagos-says-govt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/no-corona-virus-in-lagos-says-govt\/","title":{"rendered":"No corona virus in Lagos, says govt"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2022 WHO, others task Nigeria on hepatitis<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE Lagos State government has assured residents that the dreaded virus called Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (Coronal Virus) has not been found anywhere in the country.<\/p>\n

  Meanwhile, worried that leaders in global health consistently leave viral hepatitis off their agenda despite the fact that it kills as many as Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)\/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), stakeholders have called on the governments to declare the disease a public health emergency in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

  The position of Lagos State was amplified by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, at a press conference he addressed at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, alongside the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lateef Ibirogba.<\/p>\n

  Idris said the basic essence of the initial announcement by the state government on the disease was to sensitise residents, especially those who intend embarking on holy pilgrimage to Mecca for either lesser Hajj or the main hajj, to be aware of what is happening in that part of the world.<\/p>\n

  He said it is a virus that belongs to the category that is called coronal with many species of it. According to Idris, the virus belongs to the category that causes common cold and cough, and occasionally makes people suffer lung infections when they sneeze.<\/p>\n

  The stakeholders, who include the World Health Organisation (WHO); the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN); the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) yesterday, on the World Hepatitis Day (WHD), urged governments to act against the five hepatitis viruses that can cause severe liver infections and lead to 1.4 million deaths every year. <\/p>\n

  On hepatitis, the stakeholders said some of these viruses, most notably types B and C, can also lead to chronic and debilitating illnesses such as liver cancer and cirrhosis, and in addition to, loss of income and high medical expenses for hundreds of millions of people worldwide.<\/p>\n

  The WHO in the first-ever country hepatitis survey, covering 126 countries, released last week reported that 63 per cent of countries are ill-equipped to tackle the disease.<\/p>\n

  President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele, said in a message to mark the Word Hepatitis Day in Nigeria that \u201cHepatitis virus A, B, C, D and E are responsible for acute and chronic infections and inflammation of the liver that can lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. While Hepatitis virus A and E are transmitted faeco-orally and largely responsible for acute hepatitis, Hepatitis virus B and C, which are blood-borne are majorly responsible for chronic hepatitis.<\/p>\n

  \u201cThese viruses, therefore, constitute a major global health risk with around 240 million people said to be chronically infected with Hepatitis B and about 150 million people chronically infected with Hepatitis C. Available statistics show that millions of people world-wide are living with viral hepatitis with millions at high risk of being infected. Most people with chronic infection with Hepatitis B or C virus are unaware that they carry the virus and are, therefore, at risk of developing severe chronic liver disease before they are clinically diagnosed. They also unknowingly transmit the virus to other people because of their lack of awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: Guardian Newspaper<\/p>\n

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