Category: Health

ENUGU, Nigeria (NPA) — The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu State, has confirmed a clinically diagnosed case of diphtheria at the hospital, disclosing that the patient died two days after admission despite efforts by medical personnel to save the patient.

The hospital management disclosed this in an internal memo, signed by Dr Charles Nonyelu, Chief Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of UNTH, Enugu, to Heads of Departments and Heads of Units on Wednesday, stating that the patient was managed at the hospital’s Children’s Emergency Room (CHER) before the death.

“Unfortunately, the patient was lost two days after admission, despite all efforts to treat this patient,” he said, without disclosing the identity, age or other details of the deceased patient in the internal communication.

UNTH said contact tracing had commenced following the case, while the CHER had also undergone proper decontamination with the management urging members of the hospital community not to panic, noting that sporadic cases of diphtheria had previously been managed successfully at the hospital.

“It is imperative to note that sporadic cases of diphtheria has been managed successfully in this hospital in the past as such there is no need for unnecessary panic,” the memo stated.

Meanwhile, the hospital management urged staff to remain vigilant and familiarise themselves with symptoms associated with the disease. It listed fever, sore throat and difficulty in swallowing among the symptoms members of the hospital community should watch out for, advising those who develop such symptoms to seek prompt medical attention.

“In the light of the Diphteria outbreak in the country, members of the hospital community should be aware of the symptoms such as fever, sore throat & difficulty in swallowing and seek prompt medical care if they develop such symptoms,” the memo stated.

The management further directed staff to continue observing standard precautions while carrying out their clinical duties.

What is diphtheria?

Diphtheria is a bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It produces a toxin that can damage the throat, heart and nerves. Symptoms can include sore throat, fever, swollen glands and a thick grey coating in the throat that may obstruct breathing.

Severe cases can lead to heart inflammation, nerve problems and death, particularly when treatment is delayed.

How diphtheria spreads

Diphtheria can spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also spread through close contact, including living with an infected person or sharing personal items.

Transmission may also occur through contaminated objects such as towels, utensils and tissues, as well as direct contact with infected skin sores.

How to protect against diphtheria

• Vaccination: Diphtheria vaccination is an effective way to prevent the disease.
• Booster doses: Recommended booster vaccinations help maintain immunity.
• Good hygiene: Regular handwashing and avoiding the sharing of personal items can reduce the risk of transmission.
• Early medical care: Prompt diagnosis and treatment can reduce the risk of serious complications.
• Community protection: High vaccination coverage helps limit the spread of diphtheria and prevent outbreaks.

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has issued a medical treatment advisory to healthcare professionals and the public over evidence indicating an increased risk of drug poisoning when gabapentinoids, including gabapentin and pregabalin, are used alongside certain medicines, particularly opioids and benzodiazepines.

According to a statement issued by the agency on Friday, the advisory followed emerging evidence on the potential risks associated with the concurrent use of gabapentinoids and other medicines.

NAFDAC said a study conducted by researchers at University College London (UCL) found that among patients taking gabapentinoids, the concurrent use of benzodiazepines was associated with approximately a two-fold increase in the risk of hospitalisation for drug poisoning.

The agency added that concurrent use of gabapentinoids with opioids was associated with an approximately 30 per cent increase in the risk.

“A study conducted by researchers at University College London (UCL) found that among patients taking gabapentinoids, concomitant use of benzodiazepines was associated with approximately a two-fold increase in the risk of hospitalisation for drug poisoning, while concurrent use with opioids increased the risk by about 30%,” the statement said.

NAFDAC noted that gabapentinoids are commonly prescribed for neuropathic pain, epilepsy and anxiety disorders and are increasingly being used as alternatives to opioids for pain management.

The agency urged healthcare professionals to take the reported evidence into consideration when prescribing or administering gabapentin and pregabalin alongside other medicines.

NAFDAC also advised members of the public to seek professional medical guidance before using gabapentinoids in combination with other medicines, particularly opioids or benzodiazepines.

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — A mental health expert, Mr Samuel Junaidu, has advised Nigerians not to dismiss persistent sleep difficulties, warning that chronic insomnia could be a sign of underlying mental or physical health conditions requiring medical attention.

Junaidu, a psychiatric expert at the Behavioural Monitoring Unit (BMU), Karu General Hospital, Abuja, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

He said people who consistently struggled to fall asleep or return to sleep should seek professional assessment rather than assuming the problem was caused by an uncomfortable sleeping environment or a temporary inconvenience.

According to him, insomnia could be associated with anxiety, depression, emotional trauma, substance withdrawal, hormonal changes and other conditions that may require medical attention and appropriate clinical management.

Junaidu explained that excessive worrying about work, financial obligations, family responsibilities and personal goals could keep the brain in a heightened state of alertness and interfere with normal sleep patterns at night.

He added that traumatic experiences could also disrupt sleep through nightmares and emotional distress, making it difficult for affected individuals to return to sleep after waking during the night.

The expert noted that hormonal changes, including those experienced during pregnancy, could contribute to sleep disturbances, while conditions such as dementia could also be associated with chronic insomnia and require medical review.

Junaidu cautioned Nigerians to distinguish between deliberately staying awake for work or entertainment and being unable to sleep despite making genuine efforts to rest properly each night.

He said persistent sleep difficulties could eventually cause fatigue, low energy, poor concentration, mood changes and reduced productivity during the day, affecting daily activities and overall wellbeing.

Expert recommends healthy sleep habits

Junaidu advised Nigerians to adopt healthy sleep habits by reducing exposure to screens at night, limiting caffeine intake from the afternoon, avoiding prolonged daytime naps and keeping their sleeping environment dark and quiet.

He also encouraged regular daytime exercise and advised against excessive fluid intake shortly before bedtime to reduce unnecessary night-time waking and interruptions that could further affect sleep quality.

“The patient should indulge in a lot of exercise especially during the day time, avoid sitting in one place always for too long, and avoid too much regular long naps during day time.

“Save your weakness and tiredness for night time and always keep the room dark and quiet,” Junaidu said.

The expert urged people experiencing persistent insomnia to visit a health facility for proper assessment and diagnosis, stressing that identifying the underlying cause was essential to effective management and recovery.

He also warned against self-medication, saying treating insomnia without determining its cause could delay attention to a more serious underlying condition and increase the risk of dependence or complications.

“Just go to professional mental health experts and know the root cause of the chronic insomnia to get proper diagnosis and prevent reliance on self-medication,” he said.

Junaidu emphasised that early professional intervention could help prevent chronic sleep problems from affecting an individual’s mental wellbeing, productivity and relationships, while supporting timely treatment and recovery.

(NAN)

The United Nations (UN) says it has trained nearly 200 community health officers on infection and prevention and control, early detection, and risk communication in Rwanda on Ebola preparedness.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric gave the update on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the UN headquarters in New York.

Dujarric said the UN, with its humanitarian partners, has continued to support the government-led efforts to prepare for a potential Ebola outbreak in Rwanda, which has not happened.

Last week, the UN also assessed border crossings and health facilities to review screening detection capacities as well as staff preparedness.

The UN is also supporting infection prevention and hygiene measures at the Rugerero Ebola Training Center in the western province, and has also trained Red Cross volunteers and ambulance drivers on transport procedures.

Rwanda has no confirmed Ebola cases but remains at high risk, given its proximity to the highest impacted areas in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Similarly, Kenya has strengthened Ebola readiness at its busiest land border

“We knew Ebola was in Congo and Uganda, not much more than that,” Dekens Okoth Ojera, member of the Busia Cross Border Women Traders Sacco, which has 257 registered members, said.

“We were not equipped or aware of how to handle it if it reached us, or sure that anything was being done.”

Kenya has recorded no cases of the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus.

Still, transmission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has not stopped, while thousands of people cross Kenya’s western border every day.

Uganda’s outbreak was declared over on  August 26, 2026, but movement of people and goods across the region continues.

Busia sits on the Northern Corridor, the trade route running from Mombasa through Uganda to Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

More than 3,000 people cross here daily, alongside freight moving to and from the region. That constant movement makes border workers and communities an important part of Kenya’s early warning system.

In August, the Kenya National Public Health Institute, with support from WHO and the International Organisation for Migration, trained 35 health workers and engaged 45 border stakeholders from three priority points of entry.

The three priority points of entry are the Busia and Malaba One-Stop Border Posts in Busia County, and Lwakhakha in Bungoma County.

“The people who work at this border see travellers long before we do. When a trader notices someone who is unwell and knows exactly who to call, that is early detection.

“It has to work in the other direction too. When communities have questions or fears, we need to hear them quickly,” Oliver Atsing’a, a port health officer at Kenya National Public Health Institute, said.

(NAN)

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — The World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria, has urged Nigerians to prioritise regular blood pressure checks, warning that high blood pressure, or hypertension, often has no warning signs but can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, blindness, dementia and other serious complications.

The advisory comes amid growing concerns over reports of people collapsing and dying suddenly across the country.

In a notice released on Tuesday titled “Blood Pressure Measurement Checklist,” WHO Nigeria advised that the blood pressure of all adults aged 18 years and above should be measured, while stressing the importance of obtaining accurate readings.

The health body advised Nigerians to:

• Avoid talking during and between measurements.
• Avoid exercise, tea, coffee and smoking for at least 30 minutes before measurement.
• Rest for five minutes before taking a reading.
• Record the exact reading displayed by a digital device without rounding it off.

Correct cuff size and positioning

WHO also stressed the importance of using the correct cuff size and positioning it properly during blood pressure measurement.

According to the advisory:

1. The cuff length should be at least 80 per cent of the patient’s arm circumference.
2. The cuff width should be at least 40 per cent of the patient’s upper-arm circumference.
3. The cuff should be placed on the bare arm or over a thin layer of clothing, with clothes underneath it not bunched up.
4. The cuff should be emptied before each reading.

The organisation’s illustration also recommends that the person being tested should sit with their back supported, feet supported and legs uncrossed, while the arm should be supported with the cuff positioned at heart level.

WHO Nigeria said a simple blood pressure check could help save lives, but stressed that accurate measurements were essential.

WHO warns of late leprosy detection in Nigeria

In a separate health advisory, WHO Nigeria warned that too many people affected by leprosy continue to experience delayed diagnosis, disability and stigma.

The organisation said Nigeria detected 2,482 new leprosy cases in 2025, including children and people already living with Grade 2 disability, describing the figures as signs that transmission continues and that some cases are being diagnosed too late.

The warning was issued during a strategic dialogue in Abuja held during the visit of the President of Sasakawa Leprosy Initiative. The meeting brought together WHO Nigeria, the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme, Sasakawa Health Foundation/Leprosy Initiative, ILEP partners, IDEA Nigeria, the FCT TB and Leprosy Programme, civil society groups and people affected by leprosy.

A testimony from a person affected by leprosy, who was reportedly excluded from school and discriminated against before receiving the correct diagnosis, highlighted the impact of stigma and missed diagnosis.

Partners at the dialogue called for community-based surveillance and active case finding, contact screening and early referral, integrated skin-NTD services, stronger health-worker capacity and meaningful involvement of people affected by leprosy.

They also advocated the responsible use of digital and artificial intelligence tools to support, rather than replace, trained health workers.

WHO Nigeria said stronger government leadership and collaboration among partners could help Nigeria end leprosy transmission and reduce the disability, stigma and discrimination associated with the disease.

The organisation stressed that actively searching for missing cases and listening to people affected by leprosy would be essential to making the country’s response more effective.

GENEVA, Switzerland (NPA) — A global initiative to establish a stockpile of mpox vaccines has been launched to ensure countries have faster and more equitable access to vaccines during outbreaks.

The initiative, launched on August 27, is expected to begin operations later this month.

The global mpox vaccine stockpile was approved by the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in 2025 and will be funded by Gavi and coordinated through the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision.

The ICG partners include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The initiative builds on the Access and Allocation Mechanism introduced during the 2024 mpox Public Health Emergency of International Concern and is designed to provide countries with timely access to vaccines for outbreak response.

Mpox outbreaks continue to be reported globally, with about two-thirds of cases occurring in the African Region.

Between January 1, 2022, and July 31, 2026, a total of 145 countries and territories reported 190,683 confirmed mpox cases and 529 deaths.

Mpox is a viral disease that spreads primarily through close physical contact, while animal-to-human transmission continues to occur in parts of Africa.

The disease can cause severe illness, particularly among children and people with weakened immune systems. Health authorities say vaccination can help protect people at risk, contain outbreaks and reduce severe illness and deaths.

Gavi Chief Executive Officer, Dr Sania Nishtar, said the stockpile was designed to address inequities in access to mpox vaccines experienced during the 2022 outbreak.

She said the initiative would ensure that access to vaccines is based on public health needs rather than a country’s ability to pay.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the launch of the stockpile as an important step towards a more sustainable and equitable approach to mpox outbreak response.

He said the mechanism would enable countries to access vaccines more quickly, helping to save lives and contain outbreaks before they spread further.

UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, said the initiative would help ensure that vaccines reach children, families and communities most at risk.

The ICG was established in 1997 to coordinate emergency vaccine supplies during major disease outbreaks.

It currently manages global emergency vaccine stockpiles for diseases including cholera, meningitis, yellow fever and Ebola.

The inclusion of mpox in the mechanism follows the ad hoc Access and Allocation Mechanism established by WHO and its partners in 2024.

The new stockpile is expected to provide a longer-term framework for the rapid and equitable deployment of mpox vaccines to countries responding to outbreaks.

GENEVA, Switzerland (NPA) — The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has warned that a $184.8 million funding shortfall could undermine ongoing efforts to develop vaccines against Bundibugyo virus and ensure equitable access to them.

CEPI raised the concern in a publication marking 100 days into the Bundibugyo response, saying significant progress had been made in developing potential countermeasures and laying the groundwork for equitable access, but that additional funding was urgently required.

The publication, released on Tuesday, is titled “100 Days into the Bundibugyo Emergency, Unprecedented Speed Is Still Not Enough.”

According to CEPI, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have jointly launched a Continental Preparedness and Response Plan requiring $518 million to support African countries and partners responding to the outbreak.

However, only $333.2 million had been disbursed under the plan, leaving a funding gap of $184.8 million, the organisation said.

CEPI warned that failure to secure additional funding could delay Phase Two/Three clinical trials and ultimately slow access to vaccines, potentially resulting in fewer lives being saved.

The organisation said its vaccine research and development goal was to advance at least two Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidates to Emergency Use Authorisation.

CEPI said achieving the target could help curb the current outbreak while strengthening the global pipeline of countermeasures against future Bundibugyo virus outbreaks.

Beyond vaccine development, CEPI said progress had been made towards ensuring that potential vaccines would be distributed equitably if approved.

Partners have identified draft priorities to guide fair allocation, including incorporating community engagement into clinical trial design, addressing indemnification and liability gaps, and ensuring displaced and refugee populations are included in vaccination plans.

Community Trust Remains a Challenge

CEPI also identified community trust as an urgent issue, particularly concerning how the use of the existing Ervebo Ebola vaccine could influence public perceptions of vaccines specifically developed against Bundibugyo virus.

The organisation said early coordination among CEPI, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF, supported by rapidly activated technical networks, had enabled the response to move faster in some areas than during the 2014–2016 West African Ebola outbreak.

The experience, CEPI said, demonstrated the importance of turning the 100 Days Mission into an operational reality by strengthening preparedness systems so they can be activated rapidly when future outbreaks occur.

“The 100 Days Mission must hold regardless of how an outbreak begins, and readiness assessments should reflect that,” the organisation said.

CEPI also cautioned against reducing investments in pandemic preparedness, stressing that institutions and response capabilities must be strengthened before the next health emergency emerges.

“We cannot allow this to happen. The world must invest in the institutions and capabilities that make us all safer, advancing preparedness and readiness to enable rapid surge in an outbreak response,” CEPI said.

The organisation further called for stronger coordination to ensure that progress achieved during the Bundibugyo response translates into faster and more equitable access to vaccines and other countermeasures for affected populations and for future outbreaks.