Medical expert advocates standard precautions against disease outbreak
Medical expert advocates standard precautions against disease outbreak
By Usman Aliyu
Diseases
Ilorin, Dec. 13, 2018 (NAN) Dr Oluwatosin Fakayode, Director of Public Health, Kwara Ministry of Health, has identified Lassa and Yellow fevers as form of the Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (VHF) presently ravaging the country.
Fakayode made the remark while delivering a paper on Thursday in Ilorin at the Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Kwara chapter of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN).
The theme of the paper is: “Common Viral Haemorrhagic Disease: Approach to Management and Prevention”.
According to him, over 300,000 cases of Lassa fever are recorded in the country yearly resulting in 500 deaths.
The director explained that outbreak of diseases was mostly caused by lack of personal hygiene among patients and even health workers.
“Dead bodies management is also important because they can also constitute a problem. There is a need for burial management committee to ensure that infected bodies are properly managed and supervised by medical practitioners.
“Even in death, body is still highly risky in term of infection,” he warned.
The medical practitioner warned against public transportation of any suspected VHF patient, noting that such action is risky and could aid the viral infectious diseases.
Fakayode, however, claimed that the standard precautions against a disease outbreak in the country is for health workers to see blood and body fluid of patients as potential source of infection.
In his presentation on “Management of Head and Neck Cancer in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects”, Dr Biodun Sulaiman stated that head and neck cancer rate in the country was rising gradually from what it was used to be in the past.
He said that about 500,000 cases of the cancer were being recorded worldwide yearly from the previous cases of 100,000.
He, however, identified insufficient manpower, lack of modern equipment and political will as challenges facing management of the disease in Nigeria.
Sulaiman, who is a consultant Otorhinolaryngologist and Director, Research and Training, University of Ilorin, sought improvement in budgetary provision for cancer treatment and advocacy on stakeholders to be committed financially to the course.
Speaking on “Global Scourge of Antimicrobial Resistance: Current Approach to Surveillance and Management”, Dr Sherifat Sulaiman warned against purchase of antibiotic drugs without prescription.
Sulaiman noted that some sets of bacteria, fungi and parasites had formed resistant to some antibiotic drugs, the situation she blamed on indiscriminate take-in of antibiotic drugs.
The medical expert, who warned her colleagues to be cautious in the prescription of antibiotic drugs without laboratory confirmation, said studies had found malaria parasites resistant to Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) in some countries.
She called for the development of new antibiotic drugs, saying that bacteria, fungi and parasites had all formed resistant to one antibiotic or the other. (NAN)
AUO/JEO/MST
Edited by Janefrances Oraka/Muhammad Suleiman Tola