Ebola: Nano Silver fails health requirements— Health Minister

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Monday said that the Federal government was withholding its approval for the Anti-Ebola drug Nano-Silver produced by a Nigerian scientist in the diaspora.

Chukwu made this known when he received the U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle, in his office in Abuja.

He said that the Nano Silver drug, which was made available to the Emergency Operations Centre in Lagos on Aug. 14, did not meet basic research requirements.

“The experimental drug, Nano Silver did not meet the requirements of the National Health Research Ethics Code.

“Accordingly, the approval was withheld by the National Health Research Ethics Committee,” Chukwu said.

He said the ambassador’s visit was an opportunity to share ideas and information on Ebola virus.

“He is the spokesperson for the United States’ government here in Nigeria, and so he came to me as the Chief Public Health Officer of the country to exchange views with me,’’ he said.

The minister said Entwistle also visited to know if there was any new development that recently cropped up on the Ebola virus.

Entwistle had commended the efforts of the Federal Government in curbing the spread of the Ebola virus in the country.

He said the aim of the visit was to discuss further on the anti-Ebola cooperation between the U.S government and the Nigerian government.

The ambassador also praised the work done at the emergency operation centre and the isolation centre, saying he understood that they were working hard.

“You have all seen the headlines over the weekend, this is an issue that we have to keep working hard on, it may be with us for a while but there are some encouraging signs.

“Your government is doing a good job on contact tracing; I noticed when I flew back here on Thursday night into the country, before I left the plane I filed in the questionnaire.

“I was very impressed because I had to put in my seat number which is a very good idea, so that if you have to trace the guy who was seating next to me you will know where I am.

“I have been very impressed by this thing so I encourage the government of Nigeria to keep at it, which I know they will,’’ he said.

Entwistle said the two countries had a broad partnership to keep collaborating, cooperating and working hard to make the world a better place.

He said he could not think of a more important example of cooperation than the Ebola cooperation.

On the U.S experimental drug on Ebola, Entwistle said there were no sufficient quantity for now to be given to Nigeria, therefore, the focus should be on isolation, screening and prevention.

vanguardngr

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Monday said that the Federal government was withholding its approval for the Anti-Ebola drug Nano-Silver produced by a Nigerian scientist in the diaspora.
Chukwu made this known when he received the U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle, in his office in Abuja.
He said that the Nano Silver drug, which was made available to the Emergency Operations Centre in Lagos on Aug. 14, did not meet basic research requirements.
“The experimental drug, Nano Silver did not meet the requirements of the National Health Research Ethics Code.
“Accordingly, the approval was withheld by the National Health Research Ethics Committee,” Chukwu said.
He said the ambassador’s visit was an opportunity to share ideas and information on Ebola virus.
“He is the spokesperson for the United States’ government here in Nigeria, and so he came to me as the Chief Public Health Officer of the country to exchange views with me,’’ he said.
The minister said Entwistle also visited to know if there was any new development that recently cropped up on the Ebola virus.
Entwistle had commended the efforts of the Federal Government in curbing the spread of the Ebola virus in the country.
He said the aim of the visit was to discuss further on the anti-Ebola cooperation between the U.S government and the Nigerian government.
The ambassador also praised the work done at the emergency operation centre and the isolation centre, saying he understood that they were working hard.
“You have all seen the headlines over the weekend, this is an issue that we have to keep working hard on, it may be with us for a while but there are some encouraging signs.
“Your government is doing a good job on contact tracing; I noticed when I flew back here on Thursday night into the country, before I left the plane I filed in the questionnaire.
“I was very impressed because I had to put in my seat number which is a very good idea, so that if you have to trace the guy who was seating next to me you will know where I am.
“I have been very impressed by this thing so I encourage the government of Nigeria to keep at it, which I know they will,’’ he said.
Entwistle said the two countries had a broad partnership to keep collaborating, cooperating and working hard to make the world a better place.
He said he could not think of a more important example of cooperation than the Ebola cooperation.
On the U.S experimental drug on Ebola, Entwistle said there were no sufficient quantity for now to be given to Nigeria, therefore, the focus should be on isolation, screening and prevention.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/ebola-nano-silver-fails-health-requirements-health-minister/#sthash.fI1YelzF.dpuf

Kim Kardashian: HUMILIATED By Beyonce Snubs, Says Tabloid

Rumors of a feud between Beyonce and Kim Kardashian date back to the very beginning of the Kimye relationship.

Though it's clear that the two aren't exactly BFFs, it's never been confirmed that there's any bad blood between them. According to one tabloid, however, Kim is going on the offensive and is now ready to take the beef public.

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Sources tell In Touch that Kim has been repeatedly "humiliated" by Beyonce rebuffing her attempts at a friendship, and the reality star is officially "done playing nice."
First, Kim took what may have been a subtle shot at Bey during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, in which she claimed "someone canceling last minute" was the worst part of her wedding.
Shortly thereafter, Kim trolled Beyonce with an Instagram photo that seemed to reference Bey's infamous elevator drama. Insiders say the back-to-back burns are no accident:
"Kim is done playing nice," says one source. "Beyonce humiliated her. Kim thinks Beyonce's a fake.  [Kim] will never forgive Beyonce unless she gets a public apology."
Not surprisingly, a source close to Queen Bey says that apology may be a long time coming:

"Beyonce can't stand Kim. She thinks Kim got famous from a sex tape, while Beyonce has worked since she was 5 to get where she is today. She thought that being photographed at Kim's wedding would make Kim look good and her look bad."
Well, we hate to take sides, but Bey's got quite a few valid points there.

Ebola: UK varsities on alert for Nigerian students, others

Thousands of Nigerians admitted into United Kingdom universities appear sure to face tough health screening as their campuses have been placed on the alert for the danger posed by the Ebola Virus Disease.

According to The Independent on Sunday, the alert by Universities UK, the umbrella body that represents vice-chancellors, was issued because the universities are expecting  new students to arrive from West Africa.

While the three countries which have seen the largest number of Ebola cases – Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – have hardly any students enrolling at UK universities, Nigeria – which has also had confirmed cases – is the fourth largest supplier of international students to UK universities.

In 2012-13, the latest year for which figures are available, a total of 9,630 were enrolled.

A spokesman for the body said, “The issue is very much on universities’ radars. We circulated to universities the publicly available guidance on the topic.”

The guidance makes it clear that any student suspected of having Ebola should immediately be isolated in a side room away from any member of staff or student contact.

“The side room should have dedicated en-suite facilities or at least a dedicated commode,” it says. “The level of staff protection is dependent on the patient’s condition,” the London-based newspaper newspaper said.

It added that “those having any dealings with the patient must take careful hand hygiene precautions, wearing double gloves and a disposable visor.

The guidance told university workers that, “evidence from outbreaks strongly indicates that the main routes of transmission of infection are direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membrane) and indirect contact with environments contaminated with splashes or droplets of blood or body fluids.”

It said that experts “agree that there is no circumstantial or epidemiological evidence of an aerosol transmission risk from patients.”

29 Ebola patients flee as gunmen invade isolation ward

Fears has however heightened that the EVD might spread further in the region after 29 patients fled when armed men attacked their isolation ward in Monrovia, Liberia on Friday.

The incident happened   as a Nigerian was tested for the virus   in Alicante, home to 82,000 Britons in Spain.

A witness was quoted by The Mailonline as saying that the Liberian gunmen   smashed down the doors of the ward and looted medical supplies.

“They broke down the doors and looted the place. The patients all fled,” said Rebecca Wesseh, who witnessed the attack.

The Head of Health Workers Association of Liberian, George Williams, confirmed the incident.

Armed men attacked an Ebola isolation ward in Liberia’s capital city of Monrovia, as seen from the roof of an abandoned hotel on Friday. A total of 29 patients fled the ward in terror.

Nigerian tested in Spain, kept in isolation

The Mailonline also reported that   the Nigerian was   tested   after going to San Juan Hospital in Alicante with the tell-tale signs of the EVD.

Officials of the hospital said the unnamed Nigerian, who is in his 30s, was being kept in isolation until the results of the tests were known.

The officials were said to have activated the Ebola protocol after he complained of the flu-like symptoms associated with the onset of the virus.

Paramedics wearing protective suits and masks transferred him from Alicante General Hospital to nearby San Juan.

His condition on Sunday was described as “stable.”

FG to meet hospital owners , orders arrest of   fake hand sanitiser sellers

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said he will meet with leaders of the Association of General Practitioners of Nigeria and the Guild of Medical Directors of Nigeria over reports that some private hospitals were refusing to treat patients suffering from malaria and fever.

There were media reports (The PUNCH not included) last week that such private hospitals were doing so because of fear of contracting the Ebola Virus Disease.

Chukwu,   in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, however attributed the action by such hospitals to inadequate information on the nature and mode of spread of the EVD , which claimed its first victim in Nigeria, Patrick Sawyer, in a private hospital in Lagos.

The hospital   lost its matron and a nurse who were among health workers that handled Sawyer’s case to the disease.

Another nurse, who was also involved in the treatment of the Liberian-American is currently being quarantined at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Yaba, Lagos after she tested positive to the virus.

The doctor that attended to Sawyer on his arrival at   the private health facility, also contracted the virus but she survived after 22 days in the IDH.

Chukwu said, “I am meeting with the leadership of the Association of General Practitioners of Nigeria and the Guild of Medical Directors of Nigeria, this week. The two bodies control private practitioners.

“Part of the reason we want to meet with them is due to reports that the private hospitals were turning back patients suffering from fever and malaria for fear of contracting EVD through them.”

He said with proper education, the country would be able to contain the spread of the disease.

The minister, therefore, urged the media to   confirm from him, any rumoured case of Ebola anywhere in the country before publishing.

Chukwu said, “The media should help the ministry to reduce panic in the society over the issue of Ebola, what we need is continuous education of our people. For instance, we have clinical case definition, that is crosschecking cases through laboratory testing.

“That was why, when we went to Abia State, we used the laboratory test to convince everybody that the woman suspected to have Ebola did not have it.

“But because a section of the media did not confirm the true status of the woman from me or from the National Centre for Disease Control, they escalated panic in   Abia   by publishing that an Ebola case had been reported in the state. That is the only reason why the woman’s blood was taken for testing.”

On fake hand sanitisers and gloves allegedly being sold to   the public, he said the ministry   had directed the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control to begin investigation and bring all the culprits to book.

The minister said, “NAFDAC will continue to monitor but we strongly believe that the fake versions of hand sanitisers are being produced and sold   by some people .

“NAFDAC will continue to do its job and we hope that very soon, those perpetrating the crime will be arrested and prosecuted.”

Chukwu also denied mentioning the name of the female doctor who treated the late Liberian – American. The doctor was discharged from the isolation ward on Saturday.

Chukwu, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Mr. Dan Nwomeh, on Sunday, said he did not refer to the doctor as Dr. Adedevor , as quoted in the media.

The statement read in part, “It has been brought to the attention of the   minister     that the first Nigerian to be diagnosed of EVD,   is being reported in some section of the media to be one Dr. Adadevor.

“The minister wishes to clarify that the name of the patient is not Dr. Adadevo.   This should be noted. The minister’s statement on Saturday while indicating that it was a female doctor did not indicate the name of the patient.”

Sahara Reporters later quoted Chukwu as having said in a statement that five EVD     patients being treated at the IDH had almost fully recovered.

He was said to have also confirmed that Nano Silver, an experimental drug,   had failed to meet the required standards and therefore would not be used on Ebola patients.

 
PUNCH.

Ebola Scare : Policeman Flees After Mistaking Eboka For Ebola

Rotflmao.......... In what looks like illegal road block mounted by some suspected mobile policemen around Umunede new Road junction on the popular Asaba-Benin Expressway at the weekend created funny scenes when one of the policemen, believed to have hailed from the northern part of the country, ran and shouted for help after mistaking Eboka for Ebola.

Those who saw him running at the state of confusion also took to their heels, while those trapped in their vehicles that could not immediately run for their dare lives watched hopelessly for the worst to come.

It was gathered that the mobile policeman had demanded to check the particularly of a privately owned car and shouted at the owner of the car to bring his particulars.

With the threatening look on the face of the policeman and the gun he was clutching, the car owner was said to have told him Eboka, causing him to take off at a frightening speed and shouting for help.

Soon, other vehicles behind and his colleagues were also said to have run away as well, until they were told that the man’s name was Eboka, not Ebola

Expectedly, after being told that Eboka (which means family is supreme in Ika language) was different from Ebola by those who rushed to catch a glimpse of the unfolding drama, the fleeing police man returned.

Leadership

Ebola tear Families Apart In Liberia - Horrifying Photos

The death toll of this most recent Ebola outbreak, which started in Guinea, but has spread through Liberia, Sierra Leone, and with a small pocket in Nigeria, has been put at 1,069. 

 Photographer John Moore visited Liberia, where Ebola has taken a lot of lives, and his pictures put the visuals to Joanne Lui's words. These are sad images of loss, grief, pain, despair and horror as an innocent people grapple with a disease that is killing off their loved ones.

The photographer highlighted also that the last refuge is the people's faith. The health workers clear away the dead hoping their masks will keep them safe, but knowing that it could also fail them.

See heart breaking photos below:
 

Nurse Justina ACTUALLY met Sawyer on her first day at work: Late Nurse Justina's Sister

On the 14th of August, 25 year old Justina Obioma Ejelonu, a nurse who came in contact with the late Patrick Sawyer, died of Ebola. Her sister spoke to Punch on Saturday revealing how Nurse Justina came in contact with Patrick on her first day at work and how they (family) are currently being stigmatized by friends and neighbors.

“The day she met the infected Liberian was her first day at work at that hospital. She just got that job. She was the one that called me and ‘gisted’ me about Ebola and told us how she met and attended to Patrick Sawyer. Later on, she told me she was having fever. I asked her to go back to the hospital so that she would be tested and she did so that night. She was moved back into the hospital that night as she started throwing up and I kept in touch with her until the last day.”“

I spoke to Obioma on Wednesday and She said, ‘My sister, I am better now. Don’t worry, I am okay.’ I felt she was doing better. I didn’t know she was going to die.”
“It was through Facebook that I got to know that my sister was dead. Nobody from the state government called us. Nobody from where she worked called us either. It was from blogs on the Internet that I heard the story.

We have been stigmatised. Some people called some of my colleagues in the office and told them my sister, Obioma, was the one that came down to Enugu. They said she ran to her sister’s house in Trans Ekulu and also mentioned my office name, Women for Women International. 

“Apart from that, my parents are also being stigmatised. The story going round in the village is that my parents came to Lagos to see Obioma and contracted the disease as well. My parents have been staying with me. I invited my father to come over to Enugu when this story about a nurse being infected with EVD broke on the internet.” “My sister knew the implication. She was a nurse. She mistakenly and ignorantly got infected and she knew the disease was deadly. There was no way she would have run to us in Enugu, knowing that the disease is highly contagious. Once bitten, twice shy. She wouldn’t have wanted us to get infected. That is why I am saddened with this rumour that she came to see me in Enugu.

See Why Some Don't Contract Ebola (Must Read)

Experts who spoke to Vanguard said: “Doctors don’t know for certain who will survive Ebola, and there is no specific treatment or cure for the disease. But studies suggest there are some biological markers linked with a higher chance of surviving Ebola.”
One  Bioinformatics researcher at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, Derek Gatherer who majored in viral genetics and evolution said: “when a person becomes infected with Ebola, the virus depletes the body’s immune cells, which defend against infection.
“In particular, the Ebola virus depletes immune cells called CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes, which are crucial to the function of the immune system”, Gatherer noted, arguing that “if a person’s immune system can stand up to this initial attack — meaning their immune cells are not as depleted in the first stages of infection — then they are more likely to survive the disease.
“The patients that survive it best are the ones who don’t get such a bad immune deficiency. But if the body is not able to fend off this attack, then the immune system becomes less able to regulate itself”, Gatherer said.
Markers

Another indication of a person chance of surviving the deadly curse Ebola is said to be a gene called the human leukocyte antigen-B, this is responsible for the creation of protein in the immune system.
One study done in 2007 says revealed  that this gene named B*07 and B*14, were more likely to survive Ebola, while people with other versions, called B*67 and B*15, were more likely to die.
The study also said that if one has a mutation in a gene called NPC1, they could be resistant to the virus. Studies proved that, when researchers take cells from people with the NPC1 mutation and try to infect them with Ebola in a laboratory dish, these cells are resistant to the virus.
In a recent survey the World Health Organization has said that the recent ebola outbreak has claimed the lives of 1,145 globally and is now the worst ever outbreak.
WHO confirmed that in the last two day, 152 new cases of the deadly hemorrhagic fever were reported in the two day period in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, bringing the total number of infected to 2,127.

Christina Aguilera Baby Name: Revealed!

Christina Aguilera has revealed a key piece of information about her brand new baby:
The child's name!
Hours after giving birth to a daughter, the singer took to Twitter on Sunday and shared her daughter's full name with her followers, writing:
"So proud to welcome our beautiful daughter Summer Rain Rutler into the world."

Summer Rain is Aguilera's first child with fiance Matt Rutler and also her first daughter; she and ex-husband Jordan Bratman share custody of six-year old Max.
The new parents, who met on the set of the film Burlesque in 2010, announced on Valentine's Day this year that they were engaged. A month later, they told everyone that they were also expecting.

Aguilera has mostly remained quiet and out of the spotlight during her pregnancy, with one key exception:
She posed totally naked for V Magazine last month. Hot stuff!

What do you think readers? Should we include Summer Rain in the following list of famous baby names?

Church of Satan Opened in Ukraine - Photos

The Church of Satan is headed by the Kiev resident Sergey Neboga

The first in Ukraine and in the whole post-Soviet territory religious community of the devil worshippers is called Bozhichi. The Church of Satan is headed by the Kiev resident Sergey Neboga.

Journalists witnessed night service, sacrifice and prayer

During the opening ceremony local journalists witnessed night service, sacrifice and prayer. It is supposed that there will be everyday services, religious events such as black marriages, consecrations, dechristening.

                       Church of Satan: Black icon

There is a small candle workshop, a workshop for making hell icons, a rite fireplace, a bath-house, buildings for organization of everyday life, adjoining farm and so on. It is noteworthy that a religious community is even officially registered as a legal entity in the State Register of Ukraine.
The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the philosophy of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in The Satanic Bible.  The Church of Satan states that there are a number of Satanists around the world, including both members and non-members.

Sergey Neboga carrying out one of the devilish rituals

It often rejects the legitimacy of any other organizations of Satanists, dubbing them reverse-Christians, pseudo-Satanists or Devil worshipers. Today, the Church of Satan promotes itself as the only authentic representation of Satanism, and it routinely publishes materials underscoring this contention.

Ebola:Dr. Adadevoh Is Not Cured, Another Medical Officer Discharged

The first case of survival from the deadly Ebola virus decease (EVD) on the Nigerian territory has been indeed registered in the late hours of August 16, 2014, Saturday. 

However, not Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, but another female medical worker has been discharged.
According to a new statement by the Ministry of Health, Dr. Adadevoh, in fact, has not been discharged.
Instead of her, a nurse, whose name was simply given as Ada, has reportedly recovered and left home on August 17, 2014, Sunday. The details are not given in order not to seed panic in communities, and for security reasons also. All what is known is that the lady is a medical officer at the same hospital, where Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer, who imported the EVD to Nigeria, passed away on July 25.

The sad aspect of this story is that Dr. Adadevoh’s condition is actually not improving. According to a family source, who spoke with SaharaReporters, the treatment she received has not positive effect. The source also confirmed that Dr. Adadevoh is suffering in the isolation centre.
It would be noted that Dr. Adadevoh was the first Nigerian to be diagnosed with EVD. The doctor, as well as other people whose cases have been confirmed gained lots of support and triggered a campaign on social media –  #GiveThemExperimentalDrugs

At the moment of filing the present report, there is no confirmation neither on delivery, nor on commencement of the treatment with ZMapp experimental drug.

Below, read a statement (unedited) which became available to the press:

It has been brought to the attention of the Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Onyebunchi Chukwu, that the first Nigerian to be diagnosed of Ebola Virus Disease, a female doctor who treated the index case and who was discharged home from the ward yesterday, is being reported in some sections of the media to be one Dr. Adadevoh.
The Honourable Minister wished to clarify that the name of the patient is not Dr. Adadevoh. This should be noted.
The minister’s statement yesterday, while indicating that it was a female doctor, did not indicate the name of the patient.
Dan Nwomeh
Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the Minister