STRANGE DISEASE PARALYSES 6 FAMILY MEMBERS IN NASARAWA STATE

Six members of a family in Gitata, Nasarawa State have been paralysed by a strange disease.

The six are the children of the late Danladi Bawa and usually suffer the affliction after turning 18 years, the eldest male in the family, Mr Danlami Danladi, said.

Danladi revealed in the family compound in Gitata on Saturday that their father died in 1990, while their mother died in 2017 but not from the disease.

“My name is Danlami Danladi, I am 38 years old; as you can see, our parents are late.

“My father died in 1990 after a brief illness and our mother died in 2017 from malaria and typhoid attack.

“Our parents did not die of this disease. They gave birth to eight of us and six of us have been paralysed by a mysterious ailment.

“When we grow up and reach the age of 18, we find ourselves paralysed. We don’t know what happens and this kind of disease.

“When my father died in 1990, it was our mother that usually provided us with our needs. Her death affected us more as we find it difficult to eat and take care of our medical treatment.

“I am the second born of our parents and I was paralysed in 2006. And let me tell you what disturbs us is that, six of us were paralysed when we were above the age of 18.

“It was after we grew up and we don’t know what is happening to our family.

“All of us went to Federal Medical Centre, Keffi and Godiya Clinic, Jabba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, after various tests, they told us that nothing was discovered.

“We pray that we will be healed of this mysterious disease one day,” he said.

Danladi appealed to the federal and state governments as well as well-meaning Nigerians to come to their assistance through the provision of foodstuffs as well as medical needs.

He said that because of their conditions they could not fend for themselves.

“I was repairing handsets before but now I cannot do the job because I have been paralysed and I pray that God will heal me and my brothers and sisters from this kind of mysterious disease,” he added.

Other members of the family are Asabe, married and has five children, Pius, Maikasuwa, Danjuma and Cecelia, all paralysed.

Their siblings, Hanatu and Joshua are the ones free of the disease, being the youngest members of the family.

Mr Shuaibu Ahmadu, a resident and hunter in the area, said the people were shocked by the affliction and prayed God to heal them.

“This disease will only paralyse them when they grow up, we wonder why.

“We pray God to heal them and protect the remaining two children of the family from the disease,” Ahmadu said.

LISTERIOSIS OUTBREAK: WHO WARNS NIGERIA, 15 OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Listeriosis

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday warned Nigeria and 15 other African countries of a listeriosis outbreak that started in South Africa in 2017, confirming its support for their preparedness and response to the disease.

The other African countries are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Listeriosis is a bacterial infection most commonly caused by Listeria monocytogenes.

It can cause severe illness, including severe sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, sometimes resulting in lifelong harm and even death.

Listeria is ubiquitous and is primarily transmitted via the oral route after ingestion of contaminated food products

According to WHO numbers, nearly 200 South Africans have died since January 2017 as a result of contaminated ready-to-eat meat products that are widely consumed in the country and may also have been exported to two West African countries and 14 members of the South African Development Community.

South African health authorities recently declared the source of the outbreak as a factory in Polokwane, in the country’s northeast.

This prompted a national and international recall of the food products.

However, in light of the potentially long incubation period of listeriosis and the challenges relating to large scale nationwide recall processes, further cases are likely to occur.

Whole genome sequencing of isolated strains of the Listeria bacteria was used to make the link between the contaminated products, the producing company and strains of Listeria isolated from the patients.

The WHO is currently supporting further genome sequencing to determine which cases are linked to this on-going outbreak.

In March, South Africa hosted a meeting of SADC health ministers to address regional preparedness and response to listeriosis.

The ministers committed to regional collaboration, exchanging information and strengthening national food safety systems in line with international standards.

The WHO, however, does not currently recommend any trade related measures in relation to the current outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa, other than the recall of products identified as sources of infection.

The UN health agency is working with the 16 priority countries to improve their ability to prepare for, detect and respond to potential outbreaks.

Immediate steps include increasing awareness on listeriosis, enhancing active surveillance and laboratory diagnosis, ensuring readiness of Rapid Response Teams, and strengthening coordination and contingency planning. Experts have been deployed to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland to support these efforts.

“This outbreak is a wake-up call for countries in the region to strengthen their national food safety and disease surveillance systems,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.

LAGOS STATE GOVT CALLS FOR INVOLVEMENT OF COMMUNITY LEADERS IN FAMILY PLANNING ADVOCACY

The Lagos State Government on Thursday says the involvement of grassroots leaders in the uptake of Family Planning (FP) to make it more effective in the state.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, made the assertion held on Thursday at the Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Town Hall Meeting on Family Planning in Lagos.

The meeting was facilitated by the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded project.

Idris, represented by Dr Saidat Okaga, the State Reproductive Health Coordinator, said: “Provision of free Family Planning services to women and men of child bearing age in Lagos is a paramount agenda of the state government.

“The reason is not far-fetched because different statistics and surveys conducted in the state show that Family Planning programme, when effectively done, can lead to a reduction of maternal deaths by 34 per cent.

“The participation of the community members, who are the direct recipients of the various interventions, is key.

“This informed the establishment of Town Hall meetings at the grassroots to allow us understand the need to adequately plan for a right family size.

“So, our community leaders are majorly recognised as being key in the provision of the right information to our community people on FP services in order to remove barriers and misconceptions to usage.’’

Idris stressed the need for the local government chairmen to collaborate with the state Ministry of Health in the provision of family planning consumables for all the PHCs under the LGAs and LCDAs.

“These consumables are necessary to enable the commodities to be used and must therefore be available free of charge just as the commodities are equally being provided free by the government.

“This way, we can make family planning services attractive to our teeming population.

“This will also go a long way in encouraging our women to patronise our health facility thereby increasing FP uptake.

“So, our community leaders are majorly recognised as being key in the provision of the right information to our community people on FP services in order to remove barriers and misconceptions to usage.

“I implore you all to become advocates and champions of FP and help in driving the information on the need for its usage,’’ he said.

The commissioner said that a well-spaced family would ensure that women looked younger and were better able to contribute to the economic activities in the homes.

“The fathers are able to provide adequately for the family size they can afford to take care of from their earnings.

“As a result, the society will indirectly be rid of unruly miscreants who are homeless from lack of family support and care,’’ Idris said.

In his remarks, Mr Shamsudeen Olaleye, the Chairman, Isolo LCDA, said: “We are committed to doing everything possible to reduce maternal and child mortality, if not completely remove it from our health system.

“We have a budget for FP and once there is a budget that signifies statement of will.

“The Isolo LCDA will do its best to contribute its quota to ensuring that family planning becomes a lifestyle to reduce discomforts and casualties that result from not planning a family,’’ Olaleye added..