Health
RSG Secures Free Drugs For Hepatitis Treatment …Names BMSH Treatment Centre
Residents of Rivers State can now access and afford the treatment of the deadly disease, Hepatitis C, with the state-owned state-of-the-art health facility, the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) designated as a treatment site for the disease.
Moreso, the Rivers State Government has secured the donation of a substantial quantity of Declostavir, the first component drug for the treatment of the disease and offering it for free with the second component, Sofobufir to be purchased by patients with a minimal out of pocket expense.
The Programme Manager, HIV/Hepatitis Control, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Golden Owhonda who disclosed this during a chat with The Tide in his office in Port Harcourt, Monday, said the state government was poised to ensure that its populace lives above the scourge of the disease. Describing Hepatitis B and C as the most troublesome of the hepatitis types, Owhonda revealed that these types have the ability to damage the liver thereby causing liver cancer, another dangerous ailment of the body system. In his words, “Hepatitis B and C are troublesome because they kill the liver and cause liver cancer. Hepatitis B is difficult to treat but C is curable and we have half the drugs for the treatment of one part for free. Ordinarily, treatment for Hepatitis C is expensive but the state government with the support partners have made the burden less as the second part is very affordable. Owhonda revealed that the polymerase chain reaction machine responsible for carrying out viral load analysis of hepatitis was also ready at the BMSH, and functioning optimally adding that with the machine, samples were collated within and outside the state for testing and further treatment. While noting that the state had domesticated the national clinical guidelines for the treatment of hepatitis as its own guidelines, the state hepatitis programme manager revealed that it had also trained 20 manpower health care facilities to render hepatitis services to patients across the state.
“On service delivery, the state government has done a lot in the area of hepatitis to free its citizens of the disease. Against the expensive nature of hepatitis treatment, the state government has made it far less. There had been stakeholders awareness update meetings to beef up the treatment processes and collaborative partners including the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) Roche, and Society for Gastro-Intestinal Society of Nigeria (SOGON) have been true to ensuring that the disease is controlled optimally in the state”, Owhonda said. According to him, the CHAI is catalysing the availability of a component of the drug to be distributed for free while Roche was supporting the PCR machine to do viral load analysis of Hepatitis C and the SOGON representative is readily available at the BMSH for treatment calls by patients adding that the free drugs were available at the state central medical stores.
Owhonda further commended the Federal Ministry of Health, the Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Health, collaborative partners as well as stakeholders for their efforts in reducing the burden of hepatitis in the state saying, “we hope to have a bigger stakeholder update meeting that would serve as a consensus on ways of heightening the measures towards achieving a minimal or free hepatitis state”.
Lady Godknows Ogbulu
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.