See Where New Born Babies Are Being Kept In Venezuela (pics)

Disturbing images posted online by Mesa de la Unidad Democratica, showing dozens of tiny infants lined up in cartons, with each baby wrapped in a blanket in half a cardboard box with their medical notes tagged to the front on a piece of paper.

The situation is under investigation.

Mexican woman with Zika gives birth to healthy child

A woman with a confirmed case of the Zika virus in the southern state of Chiapas gave birth to a “clinically healthy” baby boy, Mexico’s health ministry said.

The woman, from the town of Pijijiapan, delivered the six pound (2.8 kilo) boy in a hospital in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez on Friday.

After an evaluation, the hospital’s pediatric center “confirmed that [the infant] is clinically healthy,” the health ministry said in a statement late Friday.

The woman is one of six known to have contracted Zika while pregnant.

Zika, which is spread by mosquitos, has been linked to microcephaly — a birth defect in which the infant is born with an abnormally small head. There is no cure for microcephaly and no vaccine against Zika.

The other five women “are in good health, they are receiving specialized continuous care and are undergoing periodic ultrasound tests,” the statement read.

Two of the women are beyond their 28th week of pregnancy, and several tests show no sign that they are carrying a fetus with microcephaly. The other three have still not reached the 28 week mark, the statement read.

Of the 80 registered Zika cases in Mexico, 45 are in the southern state of Chiapas, including three of the pregnant women.

On average Mexico, population 122 million, has 600 cases of microcephaly per year. That figure has not change since the Zika virus outbreak in Latin America, officials said.

Brazil said this week that it has registered 508 cases of microcephaly since October, a huge increase on the average annual number of 150.

At least 51 people dead following an outbreak of yellow fever in Angola

Al least 51 people have died following a yellow fever outbreak in Angola, less than two months after is started spreading in the capital, the national director of health said. Health experts say the outbreak has been exacerbated by a breakdown in sanitation services and rubbish collection in Luanda and other cities, leading to an increase in the mosquitoes that carry the disease. A total of 240 people were infected, the southern African country’s top health civil servant Adelaide de Carvalho told a forum over the weekend. More than 450,000 of the targeted 1.6 million people have been vaccinated in the capital, she added. City authorities have slashed their budget for rubbish collection to cope with a budget crisis, leaving piles of waste building up in poorer suburbs including Viana, where the first case of yellow fever was reported in late December. There has also been an increase in malaria, cholera and chronic diarrhoea, health officials say. Many sanitation contractors say they have not been paid, or are struggling to import equipment because of foreign exchange shortages. Yellow fever symptoms include severe headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lassa fever claims mother and 2-weeks old baby life in Rivers

A mother and her two- week-old baby have been confirmed dead following a recent outbreak of Lassa fever in Rivers State, Sunreports. The woman lost her life December 30, 2015 after successfully giving birth through caesarean while the baby later died January 1, having contracted the deadly Viral Hemorrhagic Disease from her late mother.
 
  The Rivers State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Theophilus Odagme while confirming the deaths, said when the symptoms of Lassa Fever were noticed in the dead woman that experts in the Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt were consulted and samples from her were also sent to a Specialist Centre in Lagos where it was confirmed that it was the dreaded ailment.
Odagma disclosed that contact tracing of the people who are infected with the disease has begun, adding that the state government has geared up efforts to stop the spread and further death.
He said government had started work with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to prevent outbreak of the disease in the state.

Omoni Oboli ,Helen Paul, Eku Edewor and Noble Igwe and others join Dettol to celebrate Global Handwashing Day

Handwashing might not be recognized by Nigerians as an important factor for overall health and hygiene but the leading global anti-germ brand, Dettol, from the stables of RB aims to ensure that handwashing is instilled as a behaviour among Nigerians by intensifying its ”Give Life A Hand” to commemorate the Global Handwashing Day In furtherance of this cause, an ultra-modern handwash site was commissioned at Bola Memorial Primary School, Ikeja, Lagos in commemoration of the 2015 Global Handwashing Day. This handwash site which features a 24-man capacity ultra-modern handwash booth also has the Dettol Six Steps of Handwashing boldly illustrated to always guide pupils while washing their hands. In addition, Dettol will also provide a 1-year dispatch of Dettol soap for the pupils of the school to encourage the Handwashing culture. In attendance were the General Manager, West Africa, RB, Mr. Rahul Murgai, Hon. Folajimi Lai Mohammed, Honourable member of the Lagos State house of assembly who commissioned the handwashing site ;the Marketing Director, West Africa, RB, Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili and Representative of the Global Hygiene Council, Dr. Nneoma Idika. Celebrities including Helen Paul, Omoni Oboli, Eku Edewor and Noble Igwe also graced the occasion to amplify the message of Handwashing with soap and show their support for Dettol. Dettol is enjoining everyone to participate in the Give Life A Hand campaign which is meant  to educate kids and the general public by uploading a picture of their clean hands using the Hashtag #handfie on social media platforms. For every #handfie shared via social media platforms, Dettol pledges to educate a child in Nigeria on healthy handwashing habits. The more #handfie shared, the more kids will be educated. SHARE THIS POST

Touching...David Beckham makes cancer fight teenager's dream come true... and she even sneaks a kiss!

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A brave teenager who has been battling cancer had her dream come true when she met David Beckham - even sneaking a kiss from the United legend. Brooke Ellis, 17, was given the rare opportunity to meet the superstar in private at Old Trafford. Football-mad Brooke had an emergency operation to remove a spinal tumour, which was discovered as she studied for her GCSE exams this summer. But the operation left her paralysed below the waist and she has since endured intensive radiotherapy and physiotherapy to help her walk again. During her treatment the talented artist drew a pencil portrait of the former Manchester Unitedand England star. And after hearing about her story Becks offered to meet Brooke and autograph the drawing. “It was amazing,” said United fan Brooke, who met Davidwith mum Lisa and brothers Harrison and Reece. “He was just a really nice man, proper genuine. He was asking me lots of questions like where I was from. He was really down-to-earth.” The meeting was arranged by the Rays of Sunshine charity, supported by CLIC Sargent, which helps children and teenagers with serious illnesses. Charity bosses asked Brooke, of Healey, Rochdale, to make three wishes - the first of which was to meet David - and she was stunned when she learnt it would be granted. Her other wishes were to receive a signed item from David - which came in the form of a football shirt - as well as a spa weekend, which she will enjoy in London with her family.

I Lost My Memory And I Couldn’t Walk Properly – Read Julius Agwu’s Touching Story On His Brain Tumour (Photo)

  Popular comedian, Julius Agwu made his first appearance on TV following his brain surgery and has spoken about his travails and what he and his wife went through. See excerpts from his interview with Channels TV below: Jumping all the hurdles and challenges of life, so many of us don’t really know what is going on inside. Nobody carries signboard of ill- health. So, I never realized what was happening, I just noticed that at some point, I was losing weight. Initially, I was working out trying to look shapely, because as soon as you clock 40 you begin to take some of those things seriously. I just noticed the over-work, stress and everything. In Nigeria, we really don’t rest, we hustle and hustle, we just keep working but oyinbo (white men) will work for vacation and settle, you know, rest. But our own, we hustle and even when we die, we’re still working as ancestors through consultations I just realised that once in a while, I would have headache, take the normal pain relievers and it will go down until I had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. That was the beginning of the story, when I eventually regained consciousness, I lost all my memory and I couldn’t walk properly. My wife and I had to go to Houston (USA), because we had to find out what was really happening to me. That was how through an MRI, it was discovered that I had tumours in my brain and an emergency surgery was advised. So, I thank God it went well and God has been perfecting my healing. Since April till now, I’ve never really done anything as regards my career. I thank God. I am back and alive. God has been merciful, He gave me a second chance. But we thank God, it’s benign and now my medication is dropping it. By God’s grace, my memory is back. It’s not easy, it’s like a car knocking engine. I don’t pray that such thing should happen to my enemy.photos

here...http://tinyurl.com/o6jwwxx

Geez... 65 year old gives birth to quadruplets

   Highly premature quadruplets born to a 65-year-old
German woman three months ago are doing well and
will leave hospital in a few days, media reported
Monday.
German commercial television station RTL presented
what it called the first footage of Neeta, Dries, Bence
and Fijon since they were born about at 15 weeks in
early May.
“We can see that the children are doing well. They
feel good with their mother,” said Christoph Buehrer,
who heads neonatal services at the Charite hospital in
Berlin where the infants have been treated since their
birth.
In a case that has sparked controversy in Germany,
teacher Annegret Raunigk — who has already had 13
children — gave birth to the quadruplets by Caesarian
section after travelling to Ukraine for fertility treatment
with anonymous sperm and egg donors.
The three baby boys and a girl, who weighed between
655 and 960 grams (1.4 to 2.1 pounds) at birth, were
described by Buehrer as “absolute high risk” cases.
Two of the newborns had to be given help breathing,
and two had to undergo surgery.
But they are now out of danger, and have gained
about three times their birth weight, RTL said. Buehrer
described them now as “normal children”.
Raunigk, a grandmother of seven, had said that she
decided to try to have another child because her
youngest daughter, who was nine, wanted a little
brother or sister.
News of her multiple pregnancy emerged in April
when she dismissed critics who said she was acting
irresponsibly due to her age.
“How does one have to be at 65?” RTL quoted her as
saying at the time. “One must apparently always fit
some cliches which I find rather tiring.
“I think one must decide that for oneself.”

Two New Ebola cases resurfaces in Sierra leone.

Two new cases of Ebola have surfaced in Sierra Leone’s Tonkolili district after a man died last week in the area where the deadly virus had not been seen for months, according to an official.

The two new cases are relatives of a man who contracted the virus in mid-July, the National Ebola Response Centre’s OB Sisay said on Sunday.

“We now know where the virus is and we are tracking its movement, by surrounding, containing and eradicating its last remaining chain of transmission,” Sisay said.

Authorities moved quickly to contain the spread, but more cases are feared, he said.

Following the death of the unnamed man, authorities quarantined 500 people.

The victim contracted the disease in the capital, Freetown, and then travelled to his home village to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

He was treated for a fever at the local hospital but authorities did not call the Ebola emergency number.

The concerns come as Tom Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is in Sierra Leone to observe the impact of the Ebola outbreak and to assess steps needed to get the country to zero cases.

Frieden will meet government officials, international partners, and health care workers to consult on the outbreak response and discuss CDC plans to help Sierra Leone.

Northern Tonkolili had not had a single case of Ebola in five months. The new case shows, however, how just one sick person can change that.

His family and friends buried him without following the special procedures required for Ebola victims to avoid spreading the disease.

Ebola’s main symptom is fever, which is also found in more common illnesses such as malaria and typhoid.

This Ebola outbreak has killed more than 11,200 people worldwide with nearly all deaths in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia..according to punch newspaper

Ekiti shuts five private hospitals

Ekiti State Ministry of Health has shut five private hospitals in the state for not complying with government's operational guidelines. The affected hospitals are Devine Citadel Hospital, Ado-Ekiti; Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Maternity and Hospital, Emure Ekiti; Emmanuel Medical Clinic, Emure Ekiti; Lexical Clinic, Ise Ekiti and JOA Medical Centre, Ado-Ekiti. According to a statement from the Ministry of Information on Thursday, the clinics were sealed for offences including operating in an unhygienic environment, using unqualified and inadequate personnel as well as non-registration of their health facilities and failure to renew their operational licenses. Speaking in Ado Ekiti on the development, the Director Hospital Services and Training, Dr. Kola Adu, who led the Ministry's monitoring team stressed that any hospital found wanting would be made to face the wrath of the law. He cautioned patients against patronising unlicensed private clinics, adding that the ministry commenced an aggressive monitoring and inspection of all private health institutions to maintain a reasonable standard in the health care sector to further reduce mortality and morbidity rate in the state. Adu also charged other private health facilities in the state to properly register and renew their operational licenses, saying that the state Government would not hesitate to invoke the full weight of the law on erring proprietors. He added that the proprietors of the sealed hospitals had been directed to report to the ministry, stressing that anyone that failed to comply would be further sanctioned.

Man Survives Being Struck By Lightning

 A man has survived being struck by a lightning bolt which entered his head and exited out of his back.

Ryan Cross, 34, was riding his bike during a camping trip with friends near Idaho City when a hailstorm swept in and lightning struck.

The father-of-two was taken to hospital where he was treated for bleeding in his brain. According to his wife Heather, he is now alert, eating and has even had the chance to walk.            

   Photos posted by his wife on Facebook show Mr Cross on his hospital bed with what appears to be a red streak down the front of his chest and a red mark on his back from the bolt.

She told newsmen: "They were riding, and it started raining and then all of a sudden it started hailing pretty heavily so they stopped.

"Ryan got off his four-wheeler went under a tree to protect himself from the hail, leaned up against a tree, was looking at a map on his phone, and that is when it all happened."

Two of Mr Cross’ friends were also hit by the lightning bolt.

8 Benefits of Drinking Water. #3 will surprise you

You would not think that many people would have to be told to drink water, especially considering that all of us would die after just a few days without water. We also get water from other sources such as our food, but many of these water sources are also very unhealthy. Drinking soda or sweetened juices is not the best way to stay hydrated. Gold old-fashioned water is the best way to stay hydrated, which is essential for many functions of the body, including waste elimination. Here is a closer look at some of the key of benefits of drinking sufficient quantities of water.

1. Headache Relief

Although this remedy certainly does not apply in every instance, when someone is dehydrated it can make them more prone to headaches. Staying hydrated will eliminate those kinds of headaches, which are notoriously common when one drinks a bit too much alcohol.

2. Clarity

No, not the clarity of the water itself. We’re talking about the ability to think clearly, focus, and concentrate better. The make-up of the brain includes a lot of water, and getting dehydrated can have an effect on your mental clarity.

3. Lose weight

It’s no secret to veteran dieters that drinking water can help shed the pounds. In addition to water’s ability to flush away body waste, including fat that is being eliminated, water can also help you feel full, which will help to keep you from grabbing snacks in between meals.

4. Stay Cool

Exercising is hard enough for many people without having to feel overheated while working out. Water will help regulate body temperature, meaning that you will probably be able to exercise more vigorously, and for a longer period of time.

5. Aid Digestion

Not getting enough water can result in digestive problems such as constipation. Stay hydrated to keep things moving the way they are supposed to.

6. Healthy Skin

In order for skin to look its best, moisture is vital. That’s no secret as evidenced by the myriad skin moisturizing products that are available. The water you drink has a direct impact on the level of moisture in your skin, and may do a lot more to make your skin look better than an expensive bottle of moisturizer.

7. Cramps

Muscle cramps are no fun, and those of us that have experienced bouts of leg cramps know just how painful that experience can be. Dehydration can contribute to cramps, helping to keep both muscles and joints well lubricated and less prone to cramps and spasms.

8. Detoxification

This is one of the primary benefits one is likely to think of with regard to water. Water provides the body with the medium that’s required to transport toxins from our cells and tissues, and flush them out of the body as waste. Not getting enough water could lead to a build-up for toxins in the body.

Posted by kenics and team

8 Health Risks of Snoring

Snoring is often dismissed as something that’s normal for certain people. Those who have to share a bed or room with someone who snores may not consider it “normal,” at all, as it can cause serious sleep disruption for the person who has to listen to it. In addition to being a problem for people who share sleeping space with someone who snores, snoring can pose significant health risks for the person doing the snoring. There are numerous “stop snoring” products on the market, and not all of them work as advertised. Snoring might be something that should be discussed with a doctor, since it can involve the following health risks.

1. High Blood Pressure

You may wonder what in the world snoring has to do with high blood pressure, but in some cases, snoring can actually be disruptive to the sleep of the person snoring, and keeping them from getting the rest they need. A constant lack of restorative sleep can have an effect on the body in many ways, one of them being higher blood pressure.

2. Stroke

People who snore are far more likely to suffer a stroke. Sometimes snoring is an indication of a more serious sleep-related problem such as sleep apnea, which elevates the risk of stroke even further.

3. Cardiac Arrhythmia

Snoring can cause a lack of oxygen that the body needs to maintain the proper functioning of major organs like the heart. An arrhythmia is a disruption in the normal rhythm of the heart, which can cause it to beat erratically. In many cases an arrhythmia is not a significant risk to life, but in other cases it can lead to permanent damage that can make life-threatening complications much more likely.

4. Fetal Health

For pregnant women, snoring presents a special risk. Since the life of the unborn child is also dependent on a good supply of oxygen from the mother, any disruption in that supply, as can happen with snoring, can cause serious, even life-threatening problems. These problems can manifest in the form of birth defects or even fetal death.

5. GERD

What we used to know as acid reflux is now commonly referred to as GERD, or gastro esophageal reflux disease. It may not sound like a terribly serious condition, but of left untreated, the acid that bubbles up from the stomach into the esophagus can lead to much more serious problems that including the erosion of tissues and even cancer.

6. Accidents

Who would imagine that snoring has anything to do with accidents? Since snoring can result in lack of sleep, it could make focusing on important tasks like driving more difficult. People who are always tired are much more likely to be involved in accidents, and snoring is a particular danger for people who drive for a living or operate heavy machinery.

7. Depression

All of our body functions are highly dependent on oxygen, which is normally delivered to every cell in the body by way of the bloodstream. Snoring can disrupt the flow of oxygen into the lungs, and throughout the body. This includes the brain, which is one of the most oxygen-hungry organs in the body. The brain, when it lacks sufficient oxygen, will not function normally and could lead to conditions such as depression

8. Headache

While headache alone is not usually considered a serious health problem, snoring is a potential cause of frequent headaches. Pain killers such as aspirin and NSAIDS are often used to dull headache pain, and overuse of those medications carry very real and serious risks of their own.

Posted by kenics and team

WHO, experts conclude meeting on two Ebola vaccines

The World Health Organisation has concluded a meeting with researchers, regulators, vaccine developers and policy makers on two Ebola vaccines, Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, the Assistant Director-General of Health Systems and Innovation, has said.

Kieny made the disclosure at a news conference with UN correspondents on Friday in New York.

She said, “So far, the two Ebola vaccines that have already undergone the first phase of testing have an acceptable safety profile.

“The third phase of testing, which consists of giving the vaccine to healthy volunteers in affected areas, is about to begin.’’

She added that research teams had been set up and preparations had been put in place, including special refrigerators, for the vaccine tests in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Posted by kenics and team

IMF faults report blaming policies for Ebola outbreak

THE International Monetary Fund, IMF, has faulted a report  that blamed its policies for the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Three weeks ago, professors from three leading British universities in a report  said that policies of the IMF favoring international debt repayment over social spending contributed to the Ebola crisis by hampering health care in the three worst-hit West African countries

From left: Mrs. Ibiye Ekong, Executive Director, Skye Bank; Mr. Sunkanmi Olowo, Head SME / Value Chain Banking, Ecobank Nigeria; Mr. Tony Okpanachi, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria and Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, Managing Director, Bank of Industry during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Bank of Industry and some SME friendly banks in Lagos

Conditions for loans from the IMF prevented an effective response to the outbreak that has killed nearly 8,000 people, the academics allege in a report in The Lancet Global Health journal this month.
This allegation was faulted by Sanjeev Gupta; Deputy Director, IMF Fiscal Affairs Department, saying the assertions made by the professors  was incorrect.
He said, “First, it is not correct to say that health care expenditures declined in these countries. As my colleagues, Benedict Clements, and Masahiro Nozaki, and I note in a recent blog, spending on health and education have increased faster in low-income countries with IMF-supported programs, than those without.
“What about the Ebola-hit countries? Here too, we find an increase in health spending as a percent of GDP. In Guinea, spending increased by 0.7 percentage points, in Liberia by 1.6 points and in Sierra Leone by 0.24 points (from 2010 to 2013). More generally, World Bank data show that health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa, including the three Ebola-hit countries, have improved significantly over the past decade or so, including improvements in mortality rates (falling by about 30 percent), child nutrition (improving by 9 percent), and sanitation (improving by 9 percent).
Low income countries
“Second, it is simply not correct to say that the IMF requires caps on the public sector wage bill. Since 2007, the IMF announced a new policy on wage bill ceilings, as part of an overall effort to promote more effective and sustainable use of aid flows to low-income countries. In fact, IMF programs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have not had any limits on the wage bill during the period 2000 -2014.
“The fact is that Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia were doing relatively well trying to overcome years of instability as they emerged from conflict, including civil wars that claimed tens of thousands of lives and had a devastating impact on social infrastructure.
The arrival of Ebola put severe pressure on already fragile infrastructure and health care systems. The IMF recognized the urgency of the situation—and moved quickly to help, as you yourself note. The IMF made available an additional $130  million to the three countries to fight Ebola.
“And we are doing more. The international community is helping affected countries meet their needs to fight Ebola. The IMF is working on mechanisms to allow us to move rapidly to provide more debt relief to these countries—which would free up more resources that could be used for health care spending.”

Posted by kenics and team

Bridal Gown Shop Visited By Ebola Nurse Shuts

A US bridal shop that was visited by an Ebola-infected nurse at the height of the US scare over the disease has announced it is closing down.

Coming Attractions Bridal & Formal in Akron, Ohio, served Amber Vinson when she was planning her wedding in October.

The medical worker only found out after she flew back to Dallas, Texas, that she was infected with the killer virus.

Store manager Kayla Litz, 33, told Sky News that the business, which had been thriving, was ruined by the Ebola alert.

She said their insurer had refused to cover them and they were facing about $100,000 (£66,000) in losses.

A message posted on the shop's Facebook page says: "I am sad to announce that Coming Attractions Bridal & Formal is being forced to wind down its operations after thirty years of service due to the devastating effect that recent events have had on our business.

Despite our best efforts, we simply have been unable to recover."

The shop said it would remain open until all existing orders are completed. It plans a liquidation sale beginning on Friday.

After Ms Vinson visited the shop, Ohio medical officials advised other customers to contact them. The shop closed for several weeks and brought in a cleaning company to sterilise dresses.

But customers stayed away after it reopened.

Ms Vinson asked the shop for a refund on a $480 deposit for bridesmaid dresses, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

She and her colleague Nina Pham, who were the first people to contract Ebola in the US, were cured after treatment.

The Ebola epidemic has claimed 8,235 lives mainly in West Africa over the past year.

Posted by kenics and team

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