The Zika virus To breed, or not to breed A fearsome outbreak has triggered a debate about birth control THE mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has spread to 22 countries and territories in the Americas, is terrifying to pregnant women and their partners. The virus may cause birth defects in babies whose mothers were infected during pregnancy. In Brazil more than 4,000 have been born with abnormally small heads since last October, compared with fewer than 200 in a typical year. The response of several governments has triggered a debate about abortion, birth control and sex education which may outlast the outbreak itself. It started after a handful of governments advised women to delay getting pregnant. Colombia, which has the second-highest number of infections after Brazil, advised women to wait six to eight months. Jamaica issued a similar recommendation, even though no cases of Zika have yet been reported there. El Salvador’s government suggested that women should de...

 Potatoes Linked To Gestational Diabetes In Pregnant Women  Women trying to become pregnant may want to watch out for starchy foods more than ever, particularly french fries and other potato based confections. New research published in the British Medical Journal on January 12 has found that women who consume more than five servings of potatoes per week prior to becoming pregnant are more apt to develop a form of diabetes that only occurs during pregnancy, gestational diabetes. The study, which involved thousands of test subjects, was conducted by researchers from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Harvard University. Over the span of a decade, from 1991 to 2001, the researchers tracked the food consumption–which included potato intake–of more than 15,000 women who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study II. Study author and senior investigator Dr. Cuilin Zhang with...

Key facts Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness of 1-4 weeks duration that occurs in West Africa. The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces. Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevent and control measures. Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Benin (where it was diagnosed for the first time in November 2014), Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and parts of Nigeria, but probably exists in other West African countries as well. The overall case-fatality rate is 1%. Observed case-fatality rate among patients hospitalized with severe cases of Lassa fever is 15%. Early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival. Background Though first described in the 1950s, the virus causing Lassa disease was not identified until 1969. The virus is a single-stranded RNA virus belong...

Nigeria on edge over growing Lassa fever deaths SOMETIME in 1969 in a town called Lassa in the part of Nigeria now known as Borno State, a nurse in a mission hospital died of a mysterious disorder. There were two similar reported cases in Chicago, and New Jersey, United States (US). Both individuals had recent travel history to Africa, one to Nigeria, the other to  Liberia, and succumbed to the illness after returning to the US. They had complaints of weakness, headaches, fever and general malaise. These soon progressed into more serious symptoms that include facial swelling and shock. Later, blood was oozing from their eyes, gums, nose and other orifices. They had bouts of repeated vomiting, respiratory distress, pain in the back, chest and abdomen, and eventually died after suffering multiple organ failure. The deaths caused worry and concern in medical circles and, before long, it was understood that the disease was caused by a virus. The virus was later named “Lass...

One person dead of Lassa Fever Outbreak in Taraba The outbreak of Lassa Fever in Taraba State has killed one person and two others quarantined at the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo. Confirming the outbreak of the disease in Jalingo, the state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Innocent Vakkai said the blood samples of the two persons quarantined had been taken to Irrua Specialists’ Hospital in Edo state for further confirmation. He stressed that the state government had already responded to the outbreak to ensure that the deadly disease is not allowed to spread. He added that people usually got infected with the Lassa Virus after exposure to infected rodents, while person to person transmission occurs through direct contact with a sick person.  Innocent urged residents of Jalingo and its environment  to avoid contact with rats, especially in the areas where the outbreak occurred. He noted that other precautionary measures include; putting food in rodent proof containe...