Health

THE NINE DANGEROUS BUGS ON WHO WARNING LIST OF THREATS TO THE WORLD – FROM NIPAH TO ZIKA

Published

4 years ago

April 9, 2021

T he World Health Organization (WHO) holds an alert list of pathogens which they say are ‘priority diseases’ that could be the biggest threats to humans unless action is taken, with Covid, Zika and Disease X are all ones to watch. While locked down Brits are preparing to slowly return to normal life the next deadly pandemic could be just around the corner, scientists fear.

The World Health Organization (WHO) holds an alert list of pathogens which they say are ‘priority diseases’, that without proper research, could be the next big threat to humanity. Covid-19 is among that list of top tier diseases, that also includes Ebola, Zika virus and Disease X. The WHO said of the list: “Worldwide, the number of potential pathogens is very large, while the resources for disease research and development [R&D] is limited.

“To ensure eforts under WHO’s R&D Blueprint are focused and productive, a list of diseases and pathogens are prioritized for R&D in public health emergency contexts.”

The list goes on to identify nine diseases that have scientists concerned about. These are said to “pose the greatest public health risk” due to their ‘epidemic potential’ and associated lack of or need for, appropriate countermeasures. Covid is currently at the top of their list as the world continues to reel from the effects of the pandemic. But the other eight are all deadly and could cause yet another threat to humanity unless action is taken, scientists warn.

What are the other eight so-called ‘priority diseases’?

1. Nipah virus Scientists are worried about the brain-swelling Nipah disease, which has a death rate of up to 75 per cent, potentially becoming the next ‘big’ virus. Vomiting, seizures and brain swelling are some of the symptoms of the virus, which first jumped from pigs to farmers in Malaysia in 1999.

Some people can also experience pneumonia and severe respiratory problems, including acute respiratory distress. Encephalitis and seizures occur in severe cases, progressing to coma within 24 to 48 hours. The mortality rate of Nipah ranges between 40 to 75 per cent, far higher than the rate for coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization.

2. Ebola Ebola virus is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans, after being transmitted from wild animals, like fruit bats, primates and porcupines. It then spreads in humans through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of infected people. It has an average fatality rate of around 50 per cent. Symptoms can be sudden and may include fever, fatigue, muscle, pain, headache, and a sore throat.

This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding. A new outbreak was recently announced in Guinea after three people died and four others fell ill. It is the first resurgence of the disease there since the worst outbreak between 2013 and 2016.

3. Zika The virus, mainly transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito, sparked fears of an epidemic in 2019. Most of northern Europe was believed to be under threat as the Aedes mosquitoes moved away from Africa. There were particular concerns for pregnant women as the disease is transmitted from the mother to her foetus, as well as through sexual contact or the transfusion of blood. No vaccine is yet available for the prevention or treatment of Zika virus infection.

Symptoms are generally mild including fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, and headache. But infection during pregnancy is a cause of microcephaly – where the baby’s head is small, and other congenital abnormalities in the developing foetus and newborn baby.

4. MERS and SARS The WHO lists both of these illnesses together. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a virus transferred to humans from infected camels. Severe illness can cause a respiratory failure which requires ventilation and support in an intensive care unit. The virus appears to cause more severe disease in older people, people with weakened immune systems and those with chronic diseases. About 35 per cent of patients with MERSCoV have died.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), meanwhile, is a viral respiratory disease caused by a SARS-associated coronavirus. It was first identified at the end of February 2003 during an outbreak that emerged in China and spread to four other countries. SARS is an airborne virus and can spread through small droplets of saliva in a similar way to Covid-19. The first symptom of the illness is generally fever leading to a dry cough. In 10 to 20 per cent of cases, the respiratory illness is severe enough to require intubation and mechanical ventilation. The fatality rate is around three per cent.

5. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a virus transmitted by ticks and can also be contracted through contact with animals being slaughtered. The onset of symptoms is sudden, with fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain, backache, headache, sore eyes and photophobia (sensitivity to light). Severely ill patients may experience rapid kidney deterioration, sudden liver failure or pulmonary failure after the fifth day of illness. The fever has a high case fatality ratio from 10 to 40 per cent.

6. Lassa fever Humans usually become infected with the Lassa virus through exposure to food or household items contaminated with urine or faces of infected Mastomys rats. The disease is endemic in the rodent population in parts of West Africa. Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in health care settings in the absence of adequate infection prevention and control measures.

The overall case-fatality rate is 1 per cent. About 80 per cent of people who become infected with the Lassa virus have no symptoms. 1 in 5 infections results in severe disease, where the virus affects several organs such as the liver, spleen and kidneys.

7. Rif Valley fever Rif Valley fever, first identified in Kenya in 1931, mostly afects animals but can also infect humans. It is passed by mosquitoes and blood-feeding flies. In humans, the disease ranges from a mild flu-like illness to severe hemorrhagic fever that can be lethal. When livestock are infected the disease can cause significant economic losses due to high mortality rates in young animals and waves of abortions in pregnant females. While some human infections have resulted from the bite of infected mosquitoes, most human infections result from contact with the blood or organs of infected animals. No human-to-human transmission has yet been documented and in 2000, the first reported cases of the disease outside the African continent came from Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

8. Disease X Disease X is a placeholder name adopted by the World Health Organization three years ago, representing a hypothetical, as-yet-unknown pathogen that could cause a future epidemic. Mark Wool house, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, said that in 2017, he and his colleagues got WHO to add Disease X to its list of priority diseases.

This potential new virus could be caused by “zoonotic” diseases – which is when infections move from animals to humans. The WHO says that a ‘serious international epidemic’ could be caused by a pathogen that is currently unknown to cause human disease. mirror.co.uk

Headlines

NAFDAC strengthens regulations to combat antimicrobial resistance in Nigeria

Published

2 weeks ago

February 20, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has intensified its efforts to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Nigeria by implementing stricter regulations and surveillance measures.

Dr Tunde Sigbeku, Deputy Director and AMR-OH Focal Person at NAFDAC, said this on Thursday in Lagos.

Sigbeku spoke during a five-day training session for journalists, civil society organisations (CSOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) focused on AMR.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the training was organised by the Fleming Fund Country Grant (FFCG II).

The project is supported by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Sigbeku highlighted the dangers of AMR, emphasising that it poses a severe threat to human, animal, and environmental health.

He said that NAFDAC had implemented several policies, including banning the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in livestock and fish production.

“AMR is real and with us in Nigeria. We have cases in hospitals, including babies born with colistin resistance, and it is also present on farms.

“We are taking steps like prohibiting the sale of branded medicated feed in open markets.

We are also restricting the use of certain veterinary drugs in food-producing animals, such as Carbadox, Nitrofural, and Olaquindox.

“We are strengthening port inspections to detect substandard and falsified antibiotics using advanced technologies like TRUSCAN and the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS),” he said l.

According to him, recognising that AMR requires a multi-sectoral approach.

He said that the agency had established collaborations with international and national stakeholders.

He listed such stakeholders to include the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the Fleming Fund.

“NAFDAC is also monitoring the importation and use of human and veterinary antibiotics to ensure compliance with national regulations,” he said.

Sigbeku stressed the need for continuous public awareness and collaboration with research institutions.

“We must educate, advocate, and act now.

“Increased surveillance, research, and policy enforcement are crucial to preventing a post-antibiotic era where common infections become deadly,” he said.

As Nigeria joins the global fight against AMR, he urged healthcare providers, farmers, and the general public to use antibiotics responsibly to preserve their effectiveness for future generations.

NAN recalls that the FFCG II has been instrumental in Nigeria’s fight against AMR.

Managed by Management Sciences for Health (MSH), the project collaborates with the One Health Ministries.

They are the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), as well as the Federal Ministry of Environment.

The aim is to implement a coordinated, multisectoral approach addressing AMR across human, animal, and environmental health.

Aligned with Nigeria’s FFCG Phase 2 Country Investment Strategy (CIS), the project focuses on four priority areas:

Producing quality AMR data, analysing data effectively, sharing analysis with decision-makers and promoting sustainable investment to counter AMR.

Through these efforts, the project plays a crucial role in strengthening Nigeria’s response to AMR, a growing public health concern.

Health

NYSC coordinator launches foundation to tackle sickle cell disorder in Edo

Published

4 weeks ago

February 6, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

NYSC coordinator launches foundation to tackle sickle cell disorder in Edo

The Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in Edo, Mrs Frances Ben-Ushie, on Thursday launched a foundation to advocate for the eradication of sickle cell disorder in Nigeria.

The foundation, known as Florish Foundation for Women and Youth, was unveiled at the ongoing orientation for the 2024 Batch C Stream II corps members in the state.

Mrs Ben-Ushie, who is the President/Founder of the foundation, said it was aimed to sensitise Nigerians on the dangers of sickle cell disorder, leveraging the spread of corps member volunteers.

The NYSC coordinator revealed that she was inspired to launch the foundation after discovering that Nigeria had a high prevalence of sickle cell disorder.

“I stumbled into the fact that Nigeria has a lot of people that have sickle cell disorder, and people are still, out of ignorance and carelessness, still having children with the disorder,” she said.

She noted that the foundation would target women and youth, who were the most vulnerable to the disorder.

“So what we are doing is that we want to start from Edo state and move to other areas, South and other parts of the country,” she said.

Mrs Ben-Ushie emphasised that the foundation would work with NYSC members to carry out the advocacy about the disorder in their respective host communities.

“We have 1,737 corps members for the 2024 batch C stream II orientation, and they will be carrying out the advocacy with the councils, ministries of health and education,” she said.

She noted that the corps members are a good demography to carry out the advocacy, as they are spread across all the 18 local government areas in the state.

The Edo NYSC boss lauded the Director-General of NYSC, the Minister of Youth, and Gov. Monday Okpebholo for their support in launching the foundation.

The birth of the foundation, she said, was as a result of a training on how to set up an NGO organised by the NYSC for some officers in 2022.

Mrs Ben-Ushie explained that the foundation was a private initiative, separate from her role as NYSC Coordinator.

“This is not the state coordinator or NYSC, though, because the next coordinator may not have been trained by NYSC to carry out this assignment,” she said.

Ben-Ushie announced free genotype tests for corps members, who did not know their genotype.

In his lecture, a medical practitioner, Dr Udi Ese educated the corps members on the causes, preventative measures as well as management of the sickle cell disease.

Ese blamed sickle cell disorder for most of the children-related diseases in Nigeria, usually attributed to witches or ogbanje.

Rokib Alata and Juliet Uzoma, who are corps volunteer advocates pledged their commitment to spread information about the disorder wherever deployed for primary assignment.

Health

Ebola cases in Uganda increase to 3 amid clinical trial of vaccine

Published

1 month ago

February 4, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

Uganda has started a trial vaccination programme for the strain of Ebola viral infection that is behind the country’s latest outbreak. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the number of confirmed cases has risen to three.

Earlier, the East African country announced an outbreak of Ebola in the capital, Kampala, with a single case, a nurse who died on Jan. 29.

Ministry of Health Spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona told Reuters that the total number of cases has now risen to three, with two additional cases from the family of the deceased nurse.

In a post on the X platform, Matshidiso Moeti, WHO director for Africa, said Uganda had also started a clinical trial of a vaccine against the Sudan strain of Ebola.

Currently, there is no approved vaccine for that strain. The existing vaccination is for the Zaire strain, which is behind a recent outbreak in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

“This marks a major milestone in public health emergency response and demonstrates the power of collaboration for global health security,” Moeti said.

“If proven effective, the vaccine will further strengthen measures to protect communities from future outbreaks.”

Bruce Kirenga, who heads Makerere Lung Institute, a research organisation that is doing the trial, told local media during the launch of the vaccination that it had been developed by the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and that the institute had received about 2,460 doses.

The health ministry also said that the trial would target contacts of confirmed cases.

A high-fatality disease, Ebola infection symptoms include haemorrhage, headache and muscle pains. The virus is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue.