Ify's EpiCorner

“Sustain Gains, Save Lives” was the theme for this year’s World Malaria Day which was on the 25 th of April. Global efforts to combat malaria have saved over one million lives worldwide and reduced malaria deaths in Africa by over 33% in 10 years according to the World Health Organisation. Despite this reported success there is a need to sustain this progress in the global campaign against malaria, and this can be done through increased investment and smarter inventions. Tony Blair, the former UK Prime Minister, does not see any reason why malaria – an utterly preventable disease – cannot be eradicated in Africa and elsewhere.  Prevention and treatment of malaria is cheap. One insecticide-treated net plus distribution costs less than $10 while anti-malaria drug is less than $2 per person. Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) help in the diagnosis of malaria by detecting evidence of malaria parasites in human blood. They allow the testing of people who cannot access dia...

At the beginning of 2012, the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria notified the World Health Organisation of an outbreak of Lassa Fever in the country. As of 22 nd March 2012, 623 suspected cases have been recorded and this includes 70 deaths from 19 out of the 36 States since the beginning of the year.  Among the fatalities are 3 doctors and 4 nurses.  The presence of the Lassa virus has been confirmed in 108 patients by laboratory analysis at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State.   (It must be noted that this information is provisional and subject to change as more laboratory results of suspected cases becomes available.) The Federal and State government have responded to the outbreak by setting up an emergency response team for the purpose of enhancing the disease surveillance to enable early detection, reinforce treatment of patients and conduct awareness campaigns among the affected population. WHO does not advise or recommend any res...

Shigellosis, also called bacillary dysentery, is caused by four species namely: Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella flexneri, Shigella boydii and Shigella sonnei. Shigella was discovered over 100 years ago by the Japanese microbiologist, Kiyosi Shiga for whom the genus is named. Bacillary dysentery is primarily a human disease often transmitted by the consumption of food or drinking water contaminated with human faeces. Shigellosis can also be transmitted sexually. Sexual transmission of Shigella was first described in the United States during the 1970s. Since then, several outbreaks of sexually transmitted Shigella , predominantly in Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), have been reported. In 2006, an outbreak of Shigella among MSM in London coincided with a similar outbreak in Berlin suggesting that travel plays a role in introducing Shigella species to populations at risk. Man is the only significant reservoir of Shigella infection. Other enteric illnesses, such as those caused ...