Category: Health

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned Nigerians against buying and consuming fruits that were forced to ripe with calcium carbide.

The Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye gave the warning Tuesday at the South East NAFDAC Zone Media Sensitization Workshop on Danger of Drug Hawking and Ripening of Fruits with Calcium Carbide held in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

The programme was organised by NAFDAC for the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists.

Adeyeye represented by NAFDAC Director, Chemical Evaluation and Research, Dr Leonard Omokpariola, said the consumption of fruits ripened with calcium carbide could cause cancer, heart failure, kidney failure, and liver failure and we must avoid such.

She said that calcium carbide generally contained impurities such as arsenic, lead particles, phosphorus, and others that pose several serious health hazards to human health.

According to the NAFDAC boss, fruits ripened with calcium carbide could cause frequent thirst, irritation in mouth and nose, weakness, permanent skin damage, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting, and skin ulcer.

She said although fruits provide the body with micronutrients that improve immunity and prevent diseases among other benefits, consumption of fruits ripened with calcium carbide is dangerous to one’s health.

“Fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide may be ripe on the skin, the inside remains unripe.

“You can identify such artificially ripened fruits if you notice that the fruits are all yellow whereas the stem is dark, this is true especially with banana and plantain. In addition, naturally ripened fruits usually have brown or black spots, while those artificially ripened have traces of powdery substances and peel off quickly,” she said.

The NAFDAC DG noted that artificial ripening of fruits would lead to considerable loss of properties such as colour, taste and feel, and such practice does not give the natural aroma and flavour to the fruits.

“These fruits do not possess uniform colour and are less juicy than when ripened naturally and have comparatively shorter shelf life,” she said.

She further explained that acetylene produced by calcium carbide would affect the neurological system and reduce oxygen supply to the brain and further induces prolonged hypoxia.

According to her, these chemicals are hazardous to pregnant women and children and might lead to headaches, dizziness, mood disturbances, mental confusion, memory loss, swelling in the brain caused by excessive fluids, sleepiness, seizure, and others.

She said that NAFDAC had noticed the dangerous practice of sale and consumption of fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide as well as illegal hawking of drugs in the open market.

Daily Trust

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Tuesday night declared an indefinite nationwide strike.

President of the association, Dr Orji Emeka Innocent, said the strike will commence at 12 midnight on Tuesday.

He said the strike was declared during the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Lagos.

According to Innocent, the major demands of the association are : immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) , immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement , payment of skipping arrears and upward review of CONMESS in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS.

It had in a communique issued after it’s virtual extraordinary national executive council (NEC) meeting decried government ‘s slow response to it’s demands despite giving it several ultimatums and embarking on a five day warning strike from May 17th to 21st this year.

It said, “The resolutions of the conciliatory meeting chaired by the then Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment were yet to be implemented, seven weeks after, despite the set time lines for their implementation.”

NARD said the major demands of the association are : immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) , immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement , payment of skipping arrears and upward review of CONMESS in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).

Others are payment of the arrears of consequential adjustment of minimum to the omitted doctors , reversal of the downgrading of the membership certificate by Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN ) , payment of MRTF, new hazard allowance, skipping and implementation of corrected CONMESS in State Tertiary Health Institutions and payment of omitted hazard allowance arrears.

Daily Trust

The Federal Government has confirmed the first case of Anthrax in Nigeria after disclosing on Monday that the disease was detected in a farm in Niger State.

Making this known in a statement on Monday, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that it “is deeply concerned to announce the confirmation of an anthrax case in Niger State, Nigeria.”

It added that “On 14th of July, 2023 the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria was notified of animals manifesting symptoms of a suspected case of anthrax in a farm in Suleja, Niger State.

“The case was in a multi-specie animal farm comprising of cattle, sheep and goats located at Gajiri, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway Suleja LGA Niger State, where some of the animals had symptoms including oozing of blood from their body openings – anus, nose, eyes and ears.

“A Rapid Response team comprising of federal and state One Health Professional Team visited the farm to conduct preliminary investigations and collected samples from the sick animals.

“Subsequent laboratory tests by the National Veterinary Research Institute laboratory confirmed the diagnosis, marking the first recorded case of anthrax in Nigeria in recent years and after the report of an outbreak of anthrax in Northern Ghana a few weeks ago.”

According to the statement, all animals affected have died.

The Ministry had a few weeks ago communicated the risk of incursion of Anthrax into the country, following confirmed outbreaks in Ghana and other countries in West Africa.

Anthrax is a major zoonotic disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which primarily affects animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats but can also infect humans, who come into direct contact with infected animals or consume contaminated animal products.

The disease can also be transmitted through contaminated pasture, feed and water.

The clinical signs of Anthrax in animals include sudden death and blood oozing from natural body openings (nose, ear, mouth and anal region).

The spores of anthrax can persist for decades in a contaminated environment.

The Federal Government said it has through the Ministry and in collaboration with the Niger state government, taken proactive measures to timely control and contain the disease.

Such measures include Quarantine of the affected farm; deployment of 50,000 doses of anthrax vaccines for ring vaccination of susceptible animals’ species around the infected farm; educating the farm workers using a One-health approach on the symptoms, preventive measures and what to do when they notice any sign of the disease.

Other measures include the finalization of the plan for state-wide vaccination of susceptible animals against anthrax and the intensification of passive surveillance activities in livestock farms, markets and abattoirs and others are heightening targeted public awareness campaigns on anthrax.

Also, the Ministry urged all livestock owners to remain vigilant and promptly report any suspicion of illness or deaths on their farms; avoid contact with sick or dead animals and their products and avoid slaughtering sick animals as slaughtering of sick animals can expose people to anthrax spores.

Livestock owners are also advised to avoid contact with wild animals and products such as ‘bush’ meat, report any incidence of the sudden death of animals to the nearest veterinary authorities, use personal protective equipment (gloves, facemasks, goggles, boots) when handling sick animals or dead animals, practice suitable biosecurity measures and dispose of all cases of animals in an environmentally friendly manner and in consultation with veterinarians, environmental and public health officers.

Channels TV

Oyo State government has debunked reports of a cholera outbreak in some parts of the state.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusoji Adeyanju who stated this yesterday said a medical team had been put on alert to prevent unforeseen circumstances.

“Surveillance and notification officers in the state and local governments have been put on alert to institute preventive measures and sensitisation of residents in markets and other places with a view to responding to any outbreak of such disease in the state.

“This disease is suspected to be highly contagious. It is an infection that may be transmitted from person to person through various channels, most especially where the source of drinking water and foods are polluted or contaminated.

“Our people at the ministry are currently on the field, sensitising the masses on how to prevent cholera,” he said.

Adeyanju, who implored residents of the state to improve on their personal hygiene and abide by disease preventive measures, urged people not to drink water from doubtful sources and avoid eating food prepared in non- non-hygienic environment.

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