Health Issues

Strange sickness besieged Ondo state Nigeria

2015-04-20T03:42:00.003-07:00

The Ondo State Government is working hard to control a strange disease which suddenly broke out in the Ode-Irele community of Ondo state, leading to the death of no fewer than 28 people in the past three days.

Residents say the disease broke out three days ago and spread rapidly around the community, killing its victim within 24 hours.
The cause of the disease remained unknown.

Experts say preliminary reports from victims revealed neurologic clinical symptoms: blindness, and loss of consciousness.

Ebola Alert, an evidence-driven group of volunteer professionals who helped with the Ebola Virus Disease interventions in the country, said 28 people have died from the disease.
But the State Health Commissioner, Dayo Adeyanju, put the number of dead victims at 12.
Mr. Adeyanju, while briefing newsmen in Akure, said preliminary investigations showed that the disease is not Ebola “as it does not manifest any of its symptoms, but it attacks the central nervous system of the victims”.
He said the state government, after getting information on the disease, immediately deployed officials who took samples from victims which was sent to Lagos for laboratory analysis to help understand the nature of the disease.

Mr. Adeyanju, who warned against spreading false information on social media, said the government is on top of the situation, and advised people in the council area to report any strange illness to the nearest health facility.
He assured that the government is also doing its best to contain the disease from further spreading out of the town while those infected were being quarantined at the General Hospital, Irele, with other patients moved out of the facility.
The Health Commissioner also advised people of the area to avoid handling dead bodies at this period to help contain further spread of the disease.
A journalist who visited the affected community Thursday said he was told by residents that the ailment had spiritual undertone.

“Community leaders said some people broke into a shrine, and the god became angry with them, striking all those people who have hands in the act,” the journalist said, asking not to be named.
“Our team also saw people performing rituals in the community. They believe that the ritual will appease the god and that the disease will end.”
But the state’s Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, said he was not aware of any spiritual dimension to the development.
“All I can tell you is that medical experts are on ground, attending to victims and doing all the necessary tests. Government is working hard to contain the disease, and I can tell you that it is under control,” Mr. Akinmade told PREMIUM TIMES.

Ebola Alert later posted an update on its twitter handle on Thursday night saying the disease is under control and that its cause was being investigated.
The organisation said the Federal Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation, and the National Centre for Disease Control had been alerted of the outbreak.

Source:- http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/181578-strange-disease-ravages-ondo-community-28-dead.html

The effect of Cholesterol on life

2015-03-11T08:31:00.002-07:00

What can turn a normal, needed, healthful substance into a dangerous killer? How can something that makes sex hormones, helps build strong bones, and balances the body's stress response also choke off oxygen and damage vital organs and tissues?It is very vital for us all to know that cholesterol is both hero and villain. While we cannot live without it, in excessive amounts it can kill us. The blood cholesterol level is the single most important factor in determining a person's risk for heart disease, the nation's number one killer.

Basic guidelines for a lifetime of good eating

2015-03-11T08:09:00.001-07:00

Life is full of sickness and diseases and these sickness are caused by us. The basic guidelines for a lifetime of good eating are ;-
a. Eat less of the following1. Visible fats and oils. Avoid fatty meats, cooking and salad oils, sauces, margarines, butter, dressings, and shortening. Avoid frying ; sauté instead with a little water in non-stick pans.
2. Sugars. Limit sugar, honey, molasses, syrups, pies, cakes, pastries, candy , cookies e.t.c.
3. Food containing cholesterol. Avoid meat, sausages, egg yolks, and liver. Limit dairy products, if used to low fat cheeses and non fat milk products.
4. Salt. Use minimal salt during cooking. Strictly limit highly salted products like pickles, crackers, soy sauce , salted popcorn.
5. Alcohol. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated beverages such as coffee, colas, and black tea.
b. Eat more:1. Whole grains. Freely use brown rice, millet, barley, corn, wheat and rye.
2. Tubers and legumes. Freely use all kinds of white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams.
3. Fruits and vegetables. Eat several fresh, whole fruits every day. Limit fruits canned in syrup and fiber - poor fruit juices.
4. Water. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Vary the routine with a twist of lemon and occasional herb teas.
5. Hearty breakfasts. Enjoy hot multigrain cereals, fresh fruit and whole - wheat toast. Jump start your day.

Stroke is the first cause of acquired disability in the world

2015-01-07T04:25:00.000-08:00

A stroke, brain attack, or a Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA), is the sudden death of brain cells caused by a lack of supply in oxygen to the brain. There are two main types of stroke:

Ischemic strokes or cerebral infarcts (80% of strokes) result from a blockage or a reduction of blood flow in an artery that irrigates the brain. They are caused either by a blood clot (thrombus) which blocks the blood vessel or by the buildup of plaque (often due to cholesterol) within the arteries which narrows vessels resulting in a loss of blood flow.
Haemorrhagic strokes are due to the rupture of an artery within the brain triggering an intracerebral haemorrhage (15% of strokes) or to the rupture of an aneurysm (arteriovenous malformation) entailing subarachnoid haemorrhage (5% of strokes).

What are the consequences of a stroke?

Resulting disabilities will vary depending on stroke location and severity.

After a stroke, brain cells die in the affected areas resulting to damaged or even lose neurons. Patients will often suffer physical disabilities such as partial loss of motricity or hemiplegia, sensory loss, language disorders, aphasia, visual disorders, and even memory loss. Level of recovery will vary from patient to patient. Starting rapidly a rehabilitation program is key to recovery.

Is there anything to boost recovery?

NeuroAiD™ is a recovery stimulator dedicated to support neurological functions*.

NeuroAiD™ recovery stimulator has been shown to increase the production of new neurons in the brain and supports the formation of new connections. The effects of this favorable brain environment have been shown to improve the outcome of recovery in clinical trials: patients on NeuroAiD™ have a 2.4 times higher chance of reaching independence**.

Find out if NeuroAiD™ is right for you

* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.
** Clinical study published in peer reviewed journal "Stroke". Reference: Stroke. 2009 Mar;40(3):859-63.

WHO congratulates Senegal on ending Ebola transmission

2014-12-25T10:17:00.001-08:00

WHO officially declares the Ebola outbreak in Senegal over and commends the country on its diligence to end the transmission of the virus.

The introduced case was confirmed on 29 August in a young man who had travelled to Dakar, by road, from Guinea, where he had had direct contact with an Ebola patient.

Senegal’s response is a good example of what to do when faced with an imported case of Ebola. The government, under leadership of President Macky Sall and the Minister of Health Dr Awa Coll-Seck, reacted quickly to stop the disease from spreading.

The government’s response plan included identifying and monitoring 74 close contacts of the patient, prompt testing of all suspected cases, stepped-up surveillance at the country’s many entry points and nationwide public awareness campaigns.

WHO treated this case as a public health emergency and immediately dispatched a team of epidemiologists to work alongside staff from the Ministry of Health, and other partners, including Médecins sans Frontières and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On 5 September, laboratory samples from the patient tested negative, indicating that he had recovered from Ebola virus disease. He returned to Guinea on 18 September.

Senegal has maintained a high level of active “case finding” for 42 days – twice the maximum incubation period of Ebola virus disease – to detect possible unreported cases of infection.

While the outbreak is now officially over, Senegal’s geographical position makes the country vulnerable to additional imported cases of Ebola virus disease. It continues to remain vigilant for any suspected cases by strict compliance with WHO guidelines.

The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Senegal is over
Situation assessment - 17 October 2014

For more information, contact:

Fadéla Chaib
Communications Officer, World Health Organization
Telephone: +41 22 791 32 28
Mobile: +41 79 475 55 56
E-mail: chaibf@who.int

Tarik Jasarevic
WHO Department of Communications
Telephone: +41 22 791 50 99
Mobile: +41 79 367 62 14
E-mail: jasarevict@who.int

Senegal: Officially Ebola-Free

2014-12-25T09:27:00.000-08:00

Here's what the West African nation's apparent triumph over the virus could tell us about containing it.

ADAM CHANDLEROCT 17 2014, 12:42 PM ET

Jane Hahn/AP

On Friday, as the White House made the essentially symbolic gesture of appointing a "czar" to contain the American outbreak, some 4,000 miles to the east, Senegal was declared free of Ebola by the World Health Organization. In a statement, the U.N. agency praised the West African country's response as "a good example of what to do when faced with an imported case of Ebola."
So how did Senegal, which neighbors Guinea—one of the countries hardest hit by the largest Ebola outbreak on record—manage to successfully contain the deadly virus? Here's how Ebola coursed into and then out of Senegal:
On August 29, the first case of Ebola was confirmed after a student, despite a closed border, traveled by road from Guinea to a hospital in the Senegalese capital of Dakar. According to The Guardian, the man sought treatment, but did not disclose that he might have Ebola. "The next day, an epidemiological surveillance team in Guinea told Senegalese authorities that they had lost track of a person who had had contact with sick people."
After the student was tracked to the hospital in Dakar, according to AP reports, Senegal's response next involved "identifying and monitoring 74 close contacts of the patient, prompt testing of all suspected cases, stepped-up surveillance at many entry points and public awareness campaigns."
Also of note, the high level of communication between the federal authorities and local leadership as well as the considered monitoring of those in contact with the patient. As Lauren Silva Laughlin wrote in Fortune:

All contacts, including health care workers, were subjected to 21-day monitoring. This included in-home voluntary quarantine. They were seen twice daily by Red Cross volunteers. Symptoms and thttp://ebolavirusfight.blogspot.com/Senegal: Officially Ebola- freeemperatures were recorded twice daily. Food was provided.

She adds that for those contacts who sought to avoid working with the Red Cross, local hospitals were brought in, which was said to have boosted compliance.
The WHO did give this caveat in its statement on Friday: "While the outbreak is now officially over, Senegal's geographical position makes the country vulnerable to additional imported cases of Ebola virus disease."
Nevertheless, as the country garners praise for its response, a national effort to train health workers before the first Ebola case was even confirmed leaves the country well-poised to handle any future cases.
Senegal isn't the only success case. Nigeria, which has had nearly two dozen Ebola cases and a handful of deaths, is also said to be nearly free of Ebola. Should things hold steady there until Monday, it will also be declared Ebola-free.

2014-12-25T09:15:00.001-08:00

STATUS: DECLARED EBOLA FREE 17 OCTOBER
Single imported case from Guinea in late August. All contacts of the country's lone case, which was reported on 28 August, have completed 21 days monitoring with no further cases identified.
FACILITIES

Dakar: Fann Hospital has a dedicated infectious disease ward in which potential cases can be isolated

CASES	Total: 1 confirmed case Confirmed: 1 \| Probable: 0 \| Suspected: 0Deaths: 0 (Source: WHO roadmap 1 October)

UPDATES
11 DecemberThe Senegalese government has stepped up health surveillance measures in Touba ahead of the Magal festival which may see over a million visitors. The annual Muslim festival of brotherhood is observed by pilgrims who visit the city. A team has been deployed and several transit and treatment centers have been identified which will cater to the health needs of patients or isolate an Ebola suspect.
19 OctoberThe World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a situation assessment report after it declared the Ebola outbreak over in Senegal. The document recounts lessons learned from the outbreak response, the most important one being "...an immediate, broad-based, and well-coordinated response can stop the Ebola virus". A number of factors that contributed to sucess have also been listed. However the WHO also cautions that vigilance and basic hygiene measures should continue.
17 OctoberThe World Health Organization has declared Senegal to be free of Ebola. The statement praises the country as an example of what to do with an imported case. Senegal was supported by a range of public health experts from WHO, MSF and CDC. The ongoing high level of active "case finding" for the past 42 days has led to the declaration that the outbreak is over, although the country remains at risk of another imported case.
14 OctoberThe WHO has not yet declared the Ebola outbreak over in Senegal, but will do so on 17 October in the event there continues to be no new cases in the country. This represents 42 days (or two complete incubation periods) between Ebola cases and is the official period after which an outbreak of Ebola is typically declared to be over. A formal announcement will be made on the WHO website to confirm that the outbreak is over.
1 October
The WHO roadmap #6 reports no new cases. A 42-day follow up period needs to have elapsed before an outbreak in a country is considered to have ended. The only confirmed Ebola case was reported on 28 August.
27 SeptemberThe WHO roadmap reports no new cases in Senegal since the last confirmed case detected on 28 August and all contacts have completed 21-day follow-up.
23 SeptemberThe World Health Organization published a summary of the situation in Senegal from its start in August. So far, there has been no spread detected in Senegal. WHO officials point to the country as an instance in which infection control measures were implemented quickly and, so far, effectively. The government and WHO acted quickly once they realized a man with Ebola had entered the country. Contact tracing was “excellent” and no additional cases have been reported. As long as the nation goes 42 days without cases, the country can be considered free of the virus. Half that time has already elapsed. However, they caution that "no one can predict with certainty how the outbreak [...] will evolve."
19 SeptemberAll people known to have had contact with the nation's only case (the infected student from Guinea) have been monitored for 21 days, the presumed incubation period for Ebola. None have developed symptoms. News sources report that the infected student, who recovered, will return to Guinea.
16 SeptemberThe Ministry of Health reported that 74 contacts of the index case had been identified in total since August. None have Ebola. No new contacts have been identified.
12 SeptemberThe World Health Organization's update on Senegal confirms that the Ebola situation remains stable. There has only been one case, the student infected in Guinea who then travelled to Senegal while infected. Though a few people who were in contact with him developed symptoms, none had Ebola. Three other suspected cases across Senegal also tested negative.
If there are no Ebola cases for 42 days (two incubation periods), the nation can be declared "transmission free" by WHO. However, there must be active, reliable case detection in place for that to happen. Regardless, WHO cautions that Senegal is at continued risk for imported cases given Ebola activity in neighbouring countries.
10 SeptemberMedia sources have reported that the Ebola case has recovered. On testing blood samples from the patient, the virus was not detected.
In the WHO Response Roadmap Situation Report, 3 clinical cases (1 confirmed and 2 suspected) with 0 deaths were reported.
9 SeptemberNo new suspected or confirmed cases beyond the first, imported case reported in late August. Officials have identified a few additional contacts of this man, and placed them under surveillance. In all, at least 70 people (including 34 family members and 36 healthcare workers) are under surveillance. A meeting was held among members from the Red Cross, Ministry of Health, WHO, MSF and other partners. The national case management capacity was assessed and was found to be very limited. Currently, there are 9 functional beds in Fann Hospital's isolation unit. MSF plans to set up a field isolation unit within one to two weeks. Other aspects of outbreak response were also discussed.
BACKGROUND
The Senegalese Ministry of Health announced the nation's first Ebola case on 29 August. No other cases have been reported since then. The disease does not appear to be spreading in the community.
It was an imported case, meaning the patient was not infected in Senegal but contracted the disease elsewhere and then brought it with him ("imported" it) when he travelled to Senegal. The World Health Organization reported the patient is a 21-year-old man who was studying in Guinea (a country where Ebola is actively spreading). He was a contact of known Ebola cases and had been under surveillance in Conakry, Guinea. However, he left the surveillance system and travelled to Senegal.
He arrived, by road, to Senegal's capital city Dakar on 20 August and stayed with relatives there. He became ill with fever, diarrhoea and vomiting, and sought medical treatment on 23 August. He was not bleeding at the time, and he did not tell healthcare staff that he had been exposed to Ebola. He was treated for malaria, but did not recover. He left the medical facility while still ill and returned to stay with his relatives.
On 26 August, he was referred to a specialised centre and was hospitalised. One day later, authorities in Guinea issued an international alert advising Senegal (and other neighboring countries) that a person who had close contact with an Ebola patient had evaded the surveillance system. Following this alert, the student was tested for Ebola and isolated in the infectious disease ward of Fann Hospital, Dakar. His condition was reported to be "satisfactory". Authorities began tracing people who may have come into contact with the student in late August.
The World Health Organization made the Senegal situation a "top priority emergency" and sent personnel to Dakar. By the end of August, the student was improving and the Ministry of Health advised that the residence where he stayed had been decontaminated. All contacts were identified and placed under twice-daily medical monitoring. The student remained in isolation and was reported to have recovered by 10 September.

Diseases and Conditions Ebola virus and Marburg virus

2014-11-05T01:16:00.000-08:00

Ebola virus has been found in African monkeys, chimps and other nonhuman primates. A milder strain of Ebola has been discovered in monkeys and pigs in the Philippines. Marburg virus has been found in monkeys, chimps and fruit bats in Africa.

Experts suspect that both viruses are transmitted to humans through an infected animal's bodily fluids. Examples include:

Blood. Butchering or eating infected animals can spread the viruses. Scientists who have operated on infected animals as part of their research have also contracted the virus.
Waste products. Tourists in certain African caves and some underground mine workers have been infected with the Marburg virus, possibly through contact with the feces or urine of infected bats.
Infected people typically don't become contagious until they develop symptoms. Family members are often infected as they care for sick relatives or prepare the dead for burial.
Medical personnel can be infected if they don't use protective gear, such as surgical masks and gloves. Medical centers in Africa are often so poor that they must reuse needles and syringes. Some of the worst Ebola epidemics have occurred because contaminated injection equipment wasn't sterilized between uses.
There's no evidence that Ebola virus or Marburg virus can be spread via insect bites. Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit organization. Make a difference today..

Several US states break with CDC and enact stricter ebola guidelines

2014-10-30T05:58:00.000-07:00

Since the diagnosis of Craig Spencer with Ebola in New York last week, states around the US have introduced a flurry of new policies on how to monitor those returning from west Africa’s most affected countries.

That’s resulted in a patchwork of rules for those flying into the US from the Ebola-ravaged west African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published new guidelines on Monday. But with ambitious governors mindful of public fear over Ebola, some states have enacted tighter restrictions.

New York & New Jersey

At a press conference, the governors of New York and New Jersey on Friday declared a mandatory quarantine for anyone arriving from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea who had had contact with an Ebola sufferer. Just as the policy was introduced, a nurse, Kaci Hickox, landed at Newark airport in New Jersey. She ended up in isolation in a New Jersey hospital despite testing negative for Ebola, and published a scathing letter in the Dallas Morning News about her treatment on Saturday.

The efficacy of such a mandatory quarantine was criticised by the White House, the UN, public health experts, aid groups and civil liberties advocates.

Questions still remain over the specifics of the Ebola quarantine policy. The governors under pressure appeared to soften their stances on the hastily drafted policy in the days since it was introduced, even though both say they have not.

Anyone arriving at John F Kennedy airport in New York or Newark airport in New Jersey from the three countries will pass through three layers of screening that will determine who should be quarantined.

Travellers who arrive from one of the countries and have symptoms of the Ebola virus will be immediately transported to a designated hospital and placed in isolation, according to a fact sheet distributed by the office of Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York on Sunday.

Those who are asymptomatic but have had direct contact with an Ebola sufferer can carry out their three-week quarantine at home. Although, on Friday, Cuomo said high-risk travellers could be quarantined at a “government regulated facility”. The fact sheet said accommodations would be made for those without homes in New York.

On Monday, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey also said asymptomatic travellers who had contact with Ebola sufferers could carry out their quarantines at their homes, wherever in the country that may be.

“If you are screened and you are asymptomatic, you can be allowed then to go to your home, travel to your home, whether it’s in New Jersey, New York or someplace else in the country and be quarantined for 21 days there,” he told reporters.

Under quarantine, health officials will make two unannounced visits each day to take the traveller’s temperature and check for symptoms. New York state said it will provide financial assistance to quarantined healthcare workers and adults whose employers will not compensate them while they are not allowed to work during this three-week period. It is not clear if this is the case for those quarantined in New Jersey.

Asymptomatic travellers who did not have direct contact with Ebola patients will be handled on a case-by-case basis, the fact sheet said.

Virginia & Maryland

On Monday, the governors of Virginia and Maryland announced that all travellers arriving from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will be actively monitored by public health officials.

Travellers arriving from those three countries at Dulles international airport, outside Washington DC in Virginia, already undergo screenings for the disease. Dulles is the third of five airports in the US through which passengers travelling from the region must enter.

The states’ new policies require airport screeners to provide local health departments with passengers’ contact information so officials can follow up with them about their health. Such passengers will be asked to record their temperature twice daily and report to local health officials for a 21-day period.

The policy says a traveller who develops an Ebola-like symptom, such as a fever, but does not test positive for the virus, may still be asked to quarantine for the remainder of their three-week incubation period.

Illinois

On Friday, the state’s health department issued a memo that calls for travellers with a high risk of exposure to the virus to be issued with a formal 21-day home quarantine order. The memo said the updated policy was to offer local health departments guidance on how to follow up with travellers who are screened for the disease upon arrival at Chicago’s O’Hare International, the fourth designated US airport for those coming from west Africa.

The state’s health department identifies “high risk” individuals as those who have had direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an Ebola sufferer or the body of someone who died from the virus. There is an exemption for healthcare workers who wore appropriate personal protective gear and had no known lapse of infection control protocol while treating patients. But those healthcare workers who did not wearing proper protective clothing, or were exposed to the virus via a needle or other injury, will be quarantined in their homes.

Georgia

On Monday, Georgia’s governor, Nathan Deal, updated the state’s monitoring policy for travellers returning from the most affected region of Africa, adding measures that go beyond what the CDC recommends. (Georgia is home to the fifth designated airport for west Africa arrivals: Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta.)

Such passengers are placed in a quarantine station where officials take their temperatures and check for symptoms. If travellers show symptoms, they will be isolated immediately and transferred to a designated hospital for evaluation.

Asymptomatic travellers returning from the region are divided into three categories: high-risk, low-risk and medical personnel.

High-risk travellers, those known to have had direct exposure to the Ebola virus, will be subject to a 21-day quarantine at a designated isolation facility; low-risk travellers, those with no known exposure to the disease, must take their temperature and check for symptoms twice daily and report their status to a public health official once a day. Those who don’t comply with the daily reporting requirement will be tracked down and could be issued with a mandatory quarantine order.

Healthcare workers who have cared for Ebola patients will be monitored daily by public health officials either by video or in-home visits for a three-week period.

Florida

On Saturday, Florida’s Governor Rick Scott signed a strict executive order mandating twice-daily 21-day health monitoring by state health officials for people returning from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, regardless of whether the travellers show symptoms or not.

Travellers from these countries will face a risk assessment upon their arrival in Florida, as well as active monitoring by state health officials.

Scott said he decided to move ahead with the order when the CDC failed to respond to a request for more information on the risk levels posed by travellers returning from the region. Passengers cannot travel directly from west Africa to Florida.

Ebola: How Nigeria and Senegal stopped the disease ‘dead in its tracks'

2014-10-21T05:40:00.003-07:00

It seemed like the nightmare scenario: Ebola had reached Africa’s biggest city, a chaotic and densely populated metropolis of slums and shantytowns where the virus threatened to spread to millions of people.
Health experts were terrified when Ebola struck Lagos in late July. They were deeply worried that it would be unstoppable in Nigeria, a rapidly urbanizing country of 170 million, far bigger than the nations where Ebola had begun. Their fears were heightened in August when the virus leaped another border and reached Senegal, another key West African country.

Yet today, in a remarkable display of how to beat the lethal virus, both Nigeria and Senegal have defeated their Ebola outbreaks. The World Health Organization announced on Friday that the outbreak was officially over in Senegal, and made the same declaration for Nigeria on Monday. In both countries, 42 days have passed since their last reported case – the standard rule for declaring an outbreak over, since it is twice the maximum 21-day incubation period for the virus.

“The most important lesson for the world at large is this: An immediate, broad-based and well-co-ordinated response can stop the Ebola virus … dead in its tracks,” the WHO said on Friday after declaring the end of the Senegal outbreak.

Based on the successes of Nigeria and Senegal, here are the strategies that can be adopted by other countries, including the United States and Canada, as they prepare for the threat of the virus.

Nigeria’s first Ebola patient, Patrick Sawyer, was initially thought to have malaria. But when malaria treatment failed at a local hospital, doctors immediately began treating him as a possible Ebola patient, and he was kept in isolation at the hospital. Officials were notified and a blood sample was rushed to a testing lab.

On July 23, just three days after Mr. Sawyer arrived in Lagos on an indirect flight from Liberia, the Nigerian health ministry set up an Ebola Incident Management Centre, which evolved into an Emergency Operations Centre to co-ordinate the response and the decision-making.

The centre took over the management of each suspected Ebola case. It investigated every possible case and supervised the decontamination of their homes. Each suspected case was isolated in a special ward of a treatment facility. Blood tests were rapidly conducted to verify if suspected cases were genuine or not.

Senegal, meanwhile, had been well-prepared with an Ebola response plan as early as March. It created a National Crisis Committee as the “nerve centre” for its response, and deployed its emergency plan nationwide in August, even though only a single case had been detected. “The whole country moved into a heightened state of alert,” the WHO said.

Nigerian health teams visited 18,500 homes in Lagos and Port Harcourt, the two cities where Ebola cases were reported, as they searched for anyone who had been in contact with the 20 Ebola patients in the country. More than 150 contact tracers were deployed.

The tracing teams tracked down 894 people who had been in contact with Ebola patients, and began monitoring their health closely. The WHO described it as “world-class epidemiological detective work.” Even mobile-phone data and law-enforcement agencies were employed to trace contacts, using an emergency presidential decree, and airplane manifests were scrutinized. Health workers visited any contact who reported symptoms – or who failed to provide health updates via cellphone text messages.

In Senegal, tracers found 74 close contacts of the country’s sole Ebola patient. The health of each of these 74 people was carefully monitored, twice a day. To encourage their co-operation, the contacts were offered food, money and psychological counselling.

In Nigeria, social mobilization teams went house-to-house to visit 26,000 families who lived within two kilometres of the Ebola patients. They explained Ebola’s warning signs and how to prevent the virus from spreading. Leaflets and billboards, in multiple languages, along with social-media messages, were used to educate the broader Nigerian population.

Education was crucial in a country where dangerous myths were spreading. There was even a rumour that drinking large amounts of salt water would protect people from Ebola – a rumour that sickened and even killed some Nigerians who attempted the harmful diet.

Senegal, too, created a national public-awareness campaign, using media experts and local radio networks.

Effective public-health institutions

Senegal and Nigeria both benefited from a stronger and better-financed system of public health than Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the impoverished countries where the current epidemic began.

Nigeria also took advantage of the infrastructure of a polio eradication program that had been active for years. A polio and HIV clinic in Lagos, financed by the Gates Foundation, was transformed into an emergency centre for Ebola, with dozens of doctors available.

Nigeria was also quick to welcome foreign help. There was remarkable co-ordination between every level of Nigerian government and global health organizations such as the WHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Médecins sans frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Private companies donated ambulances, disinfectant and other important supplies.

Nigeria and Senegal boosted their surveillance for Ebola, especially at land border crossings, but they never closed their airports.

“Critically important early on was the government’s decision to open a humanitarian corridor in Dakar to facilitate the movement and activities of humanitarian agencies,” the WHO said. “This decision meant that food, medicines and other essential supplies could seamlessly and efficiently flow into the country.”

Report by Geoffrey York

Nigeria is free from ebola

2014-10-21T02:59:00.001-07:00

The World Health Organization has declared Nigeria Ebola-free — after more than six weeks without a new case of the disease that has claimed the lives of more than 4,500 people in West Africa, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

“Nigeria is now free of Ebola,” WHO representative Rui Gama Vaz told a news conference in the capital Abuja, Reuters reported. “This is a spectacular success story … It shows that Ebola can be contained but we must be clear that we have only won a battle. The war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola.”

The last reported case in Nigeria was confirmed Sept. 8. The nation’s response to Ebola is being held out as an example to the still-stricken West African nations, as well to Texas.

Ebola hit Nigeria in July when an American-Liberian citizen, Patrick Sawyer, was diagnosed in Lagos with the disease — and Nigerian officials quickly declared a public health emergency. Sawyer later died.

It was a nightmare scenario with the potential to spiral out of control, given the bustling city of Lagos, Africa’s largest, is a major transportation hub.

In total, Nigeria reported 20 people with Ebola, according to WHO. Eight of them died. But John Vertefeuille, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Nigeria took the right steps to stop it.

“Nigeria acted quickly and early and on a large scale” Vertefeuille told Agence France-Presse. “They acted aggressively, especially in terms of contact-tracing.”

Last week, WHO announced Senegal was free of the disease. The infection was brought to Senegal in August by a man who had traveled by road from Guinea to Dakar. The government of Senegal identified more than 70 people who had come in contact with the man and began testing anyone considered at high risk. On Sept. 5, the man tested negative, recovered and later returned to Guinea, according to a statement from WHO. According to WHO, the success of Nigeria — Africa’s most populous nation — was attributable to ample funding, quick action and assistance from the WHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the non-profit Doctors Without Borders.

Unlike the situation in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, “all identified contacts were physically monitored on a daily basis for 21 days. The few contacts who attempted to escape the monitoring system were all diligently tracked” by special teams and returned to observation.

The organization noted Nigeria had resources unavailable to the poorer nations of West Africa, including experienced epidemiologists and a virology lab associated with a teaching hospital at Lagos University.

Officials conducted house-to-house information campaigns, explaining the risks and the preventive measures necessary to keep control of the situation.

Reported by World Health Organization (WHO)

UNICEF Canada launches urgent appeal against ebola

2014-10-02T04:14:00.001-07:00

UNICEF Canada is launching an urgent appeal for donations to respond to the Ebola outbreak that is ravaging West Africa and putting 10 million children at risk. The humanitarian organization says it needs more than $200 million to respond, but has only raised $25 million to date, amid heightened concerns about the rapidly escalating crisis.

"Ebola is spreading more quickly than we ever could have imagined and is outpacing global efforts to combat it. It's hard for us to imagine as Canadians what it's like to be in these countries where a fatal disease is spreading like wildfire. Luckily for most of us, our understanding of this kind of crisis is only what we've seen in movies. But for millions of children and families in West Africa, it's a stark reality," says David Morley, President and CEO of UNICEF Canada.

"I can't stress how urgent the need is. New cases are reported every day—and tens of thousands of new cases are expected in the coming months. Whole communities are at stake. Canadians are among the most generous people in the world when humanitarian crises hit and we're urging them to continue this legacy by donating to help children affected by Ebola."

Ebola stats and facts:

This Ebola outbreak has claimed more than 2,600 lives and devastated communities in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone where an estimated 10 million children and youth under 20 years old live in Ebola-affected areas. Of them, 2.5 million are under the age of five.
The outbreak is spreading fast with 47 per cent of the total number of cases seen within the past 21 days.
Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, have reported 4,963 cases and 2,453 deaths (as of 16 September).
Women have been disproportionately affected by the virus because of their role as caregivers, comprising nearly 75 per cent of all cases so far.

Other risks:

Lack of protection for health workers, challenges in providing protective supplies to families and monitoring burials, misconceptions and social unrest, have contributed to the spread of the virus.
In contrast to previous outbreaks, this outbreak has reached urban centres and has been transmitted across international borders.
The potential longer term impact of this crisis – on trade, economic growth, education, employment, social services – can be minimized if affected countries are not isolated.
The breakdown of services to prevent epidemics - such as immunization, provision of clean water and sanitation and provision of bed nets - increases the risk of outbreaks of measles, cholera and malaria as well as resurgence in polio. This would in turn seriously damage the response efforts against Ebola and lead to a significant number of deaths amongst children and their families.

UNICEF's response:

Providing social mobilization and information in affected countries, playing a critical role to support, mobilize and incentivize networks of community health workers and volunteers.
Airlifting essential supplies to the affected countries on a massive scale for use in treatment and care centres as well as for continuity of basic services. By early October, UNICEF will have delivered 1300 metric tonnes (MT) on 55 flights.
Planning support for water supply, sanitation, and solid waste disposal and hygiene standards in care centres, alongside support for health standards.
Working closely with the governments in providing alternative means of learning for children affected by the closure of schools.
Providing counselling for children and families severely affected by the outbreak, including orphaned children and widows.
In the neighbouring countries at risk (Mali, Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Ivory Coast), UNICEF is working with the governments and partners to create awareness among the communities, while emergency supplies and medical equipment are being delivered for preparedness.

Lack of Ebola volunteers has doctors scrambling to catch up

2014-09-30T02:42:00.001-07:00

Doctors and nurses are finally volunteering to fight the Ebola virus in West Africa after a long period of paralyzing fear in which almost none stepped forward.

But, experts say, even though money is now pouring in from the World Bank, the Gates Foundation and elsewhere, and the U.S. Army is to start erecting field hospitals soon, there is likely to be a long gap before those hospitals can be fully staffed to care for the growing numbers of people sick with Ebola.

“As a result, thousands of people will die,” Dr. Joanne Liu, president of Médecins sans frontières (Doctors Without Borders), which treats more patients than any other entity, said Friday. “I can’t say the exact figure because we don’t know how many unreported cases there are. But thousands for sure.”

Because months went by this summer in which almost no volunteers could be found, and because it takes time to train them and get them to Africa, there remains a yawning gap between the number of medical professionals needed and those in place to do the work. Each 100-bed hospital needs a staff of 400, about 40 of whom are foreign doctors or nurses. Meanwhile, about 600 Ebola cases are being recorded every week, according to the World Health Organization, and that number doubles every three weeks.

“If we had 1,700 staffed beds right now, we could maybe turn the tide,” Dr. Liu said. “When we hear the pledges, we ask for timelines. Some say eight to 10 weeks. They’re going to wake up to a much bigger problem at Christmas”

The first U.S. troops with orders to build 17 100-bed hospitals are arriving in Liberia now. Other countries, particularly Britain and France, are under pressure to do the same in Sierra Leone and Guinea.

But the U.S. military now plans to staff only one 25-bed hospital for infected health workers with members of the quasi-military Public Health Service.

“Who will staff the rest?” asked Dr. Liu. “It needs to be hands-on. You have to chip in and expose yourself.”

Ebola field hospitals ideally contain three separate tents for confirmed, probable and suspected cases; separate toilet and washing facilities for each; and a double fence outside so relatives can talk without touching. They also contain separate dressing and undressing rooms for staff members wearing protective gear, and possibly laboratory and kitchen tents.

Liberia: Chief medical officer places herself under Ebola quarantine

2014-09-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

Liberia’s chief medical officer is placing herself under quarantine for 21 days after her office assistant died of Ebola.

Bernice Dahn, a deputy health minister who has represented Liberia at regional conferences intended to combat the ongoing epidemic, told The Associated Press on Saturday that she did not have any Ebola symptoms but wanted to ensure she was not infected.

The World Health Organization says 21 days is the maximum incubation period for Ebola, which has killed more than 3,000 people across West Africa and is hitting Liberia especially hard. WHO figures released Friday said 150 people died in the country in just two days.

Liberia’s government has asked people to keep themselves isolated for 21 days if they think they have been exposed. The unprecedented scale of the outbreak, however, has made it difficult to trace the contacts of victims and quarantine those who might be at risk.

“Of course we made the rule, so I am home for 21 days,” Dahn said Saturday. “I did it on my own. I told my office staff to stay at home for the 21 days. That’s what we need to do.”

Health officials, especially front-line doctors and nurses, are particularly vulnerable to Ebola, which is spread via the bodily fluids of infected patients. Earlier this month, WHO said more than 300 health workers had contracted Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three most-affected countries. Nearly half of them had died.

Making sure health care workers have the necessary supplies, including personal protective equipment, has been a challenge especially given that many flights in and out of Ebola-affected countries have been cancelled.

At an emergency of the African Union on Sept. 8, regional travel hub Senegal said it was planning to open a “humanitarian corridor” to affected countries.

Senegal was expected on Saturday to receive a flight carrying humanitarian staff from Guinea — the first time aid workers from one of the three most-affected countries were allowed in Senegal since the corridor was opened, said Alexis Masciarelli, spokesman for the World Food Program.

The airport in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, has set up a terminal specifically for humanitarian flights where thorough health checks will be conducted, Masciarelli said.

The current plan calls for two weekly rotations between Dakar and Ebola-affected countries and a third weekly rotation between Dakar and Accra, Ghana, where a special U.N. mission to fight Ebola will be headquartered, Masciarelli said.

Physician credits Ebola survival to experimental, Canadian-developed drug

2014-09-29T09:24:00.001-07:00

In his many years of medical work in Liberia, Congo and elsewhere, Dr. Omeonga has suffered bouts of malaria and has seen almost everything in tropical medicine. But nothing, he says, feels like Ebola. He was feverish, vomiting, diarrhea and unable to eat. “You can’t even get off the bed. When you get Ebola, you only think you’re going to die.”

Two things helped him survive the lethal illness. One was ZMapp, the experimental Canadian-developed Ebola treatment. He was one of just seven Ebola victims worldwide who received ZMapp before supplies ran out. He believes that the three doses of ZMapp he received intravenously in Monrovia last month were among the keys to his recovery.

The other crucial support came from his four children, three of whom live in Canada. “Daddy, you have to fight,” they told him. “We need you. You’re going to make it.”

Those daily phone calls from Canada “gave me hope,” he said in an interview. “It’s what helped me to fight.”

ZMapp, a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies, was developed at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg. Of the seven people with Ebola who received the treatment, two died and five lived. Because clinical trials have not been conducted, it’s impossible to say scientifically whether ZMapp saved his life, but Dr. Omeonga is convinced it accelerated his recovery.

The 53-year-old surgeon feels even more certain that ZMapp was crucial in saving a Liberian health worker, Kyndy Kobbah, who was in a coma in critical condition when she received it. “If it wasn’t for ZMapp, she wouldn’t have made it,” he said.

“Everybody was amazed. Nobody gave her a chance to survive. She got her recovery because of ZMapp. If they can expedite the production of it, they should try, because we really need it.”

Dr. Omeonga still sometimes feels weak and tired these days, about four weeks after his discharge from hospital, but he says he is gaining strength every day. And he is determined to return to work as a doctor in Monrovia, at the same Catholic hospital, St. Joseph’s, where he has served for the past three years. The hospital was closed in August after nine of its staff and patients died of Ebola, but it is expected to reopen next month or in early November.

It didn’t even cross his mind to abandon Liberia after surviving Ebola. “Now that I’ve recovered from Ebola, it wouldn’t make sense to be selfish,” he said. “I feel strongly that I want to keep helping the people here. Now that I have a second chance, I’ll use it to help others. They really need us.”

He has already volunteered to donate blood to Ebola patients. “The recovery period is the best time to donate blood, because that’s when you have the full antibodies,” he explains.

Dr. Omeonga’s experience reveals the desperately weak state of Liberia’s health system. His hospital director, Patrick Nshamdze, caught the Ebola virus from a patient in July, but his blood results gave a “false negative” – probably because of poor labelling or specimen collection in the testing process, Dr. Omeonga believes.

So as the hospital staff provided care to the dying director, they didn’t take enough precautions, believing that he didn’t have the Ebola virus. Several staff – including Dr. Omeonga – caught the virus from him, and Dr. Nshamdze died.

Health workers are among the most vulnerable in the Ebola epidemic. As of last week, 375 health workers had been infected with Ebola in four West African countries, and 211 had died.

This is because of three key factors, Dr. Omeonga said. First, there are severe shortages of protective equipment for health workers. Second, health workers have almost daily exposure to the Ebola virus. And third, their patients often conceal the fact that they have the virus.

“Some patients don’t tell the truth,” he said. “They come to you with a different story, like ‘abdominal pain.’ It’s because of the stigma of Ebola. They think they won’t be treated and they’ll be sent away.”

Global efforts to fight Ebola are falling far short, he said. “When I discuss it with my colleagues, we don’t feel the impact of the international help. It’s not coming fast enough. The numbers of cases and deaths are just going up. The international community needs to do more – and fast. A lot of hospitals are closed, and thousands of patients are in the community. Even if we go house-to-house, where are we going to put them?”

Yet his own story is an inspirational sign that the Ebola epidemic can be beaten. “There is a lot of hope,” Dr. Omeonga says.

“I’d like to spread the message of hope. It’s a deadly disease, but it doesn’t kill everyone. The key is to diagnose it early and go to treatment early. If you do that, you can survive.”

Questions and Answers on Ebola

2014-09-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

What is Ebola?

Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease, is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus strains (Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, or Tai Forest virus). Ebola viruses are found in several African countries. Ebola was discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, outbreaks have appeared sporadically in several African countries.

Has patient zero been identified?

Reports in the medical literature and elsewhere have attempted to identify the patient who might have been the initial person infected in the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Descriptions of these reports are available online. It’s important for CDC to learn as much as it can about the source and initial spread of any outbreak.

With regard to the West Africa Ebola outbreak, tracing the lineage of how Ebola has spread thus far can help CDC apply that knowledge toward better prevention and care techniques. The knowledge gained in this work might entail details about specific patients. CDC generally refrains, however, from identifying particular patients in any aspect of an outbreak.

Signs and Symptoms

What are the signs and symptoms of Ebola?

Signs and symptoms of Ebola include fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F) and severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising. Signs and symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, although 8 to 10 days is most common.

How is Ebola spread?

The virus is spread through direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with blood and body fluids (urine, feces, saliva, vomit, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola, or with objects (like needles) that have been contaminated with the virus. Ebola is not spread through the air or by water or, in general, by food; however, in Africa, Ebola may be spread as a result of handling bushmeat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats.

Can I get Ebola from a person who is infected but doesn’t have fever or any symptoms?

No. A person infected with Ebola is not contagious until symptoms appear.

If someone survives Ebola, can he or she still spread the virus?

Once someone recovers from Ebola, they can no longer spread the virus. However, Ebola virus has been found in semen for up to 3 months. People who recover from Ebola are advised to abstain from sex or use condoms for 3 months.

Can Ebola be spread through mosquitos?

There is no evidence that mosquitos or other insects can transmit Ebola virus. Only mammals (for example, humans, bats, monkeys and apes) have shown the ability to spread and become infected with Ebola virus.

Could Ebola be brought to the U.S. through imported animals?

Because of the tough restrictions the U.S. federal government has in place for importing animals from Africa, it is highly unlikely for Ebola to be brought into the U.S. through imported animals.

The animals most commonly associated with Ebola are nonhuman primates (for example, apes and monkeys) and bats. Both the CDC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulate importation of nonhuman primates and bats. These animals, products made from these animals, and research samples from these animals may only be imported into the United States with a permit. The permit specifies that the animals, animal products, or research samples are arriving ONLY for scientific, educational, or exhibition purposes. It is illegal to import these animals into the United States as pets or bushmeat.

Risk of Exposure

Who is most at risk of getting Ebola?

Healthcare providers caring for Ebola patients and family and friends in close contact with Ebola patients are at the highest risk of getting sick because they may come in direct contact with the blood or body fluids of sick patients.

In some places affected by the current outbreak, care may be provided in clinics with limited resources (for example, no running water, no climate control, no floors, inadequate medical supplies), and workers could be in those areas for several hours with a number of Ebola infected patients. Additionally, certain job responsibilities and tasks, such as attending to dead bodies, may also require different PPE than what is used when providing care for infected patients in a hospital.

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Treatment

How is Ebola treated?

No specific vaccine or medicine has been proven to cure Ebola. Signs and symptoms of Ebola are treated as they appear. The following basic interventions, when used early, can increase the chances of survival.

· Providing fluids and electrolytes

· Maintaining oxygen status and blood pressure

· Treating other infections if they occur

Early recognition of Ebola is important for providing appropriate patient care and preventing the spread of infection. Healthcare providers should be alert for and evaluate any patients suspected of having Ebola.

Prevention

How do I protect myself against Ebola?

If you are in or traveling to an area affected by the Ebola outbreak, protect yourself by doing the following:

· Wash hands frequently.

· Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, particularly someone who is sick.

· Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids.

· Do not touch the body of someone who has died from Ebola.

· Do not touch bats and nonhuman primates or their blood and fluids and do not touch or eat raw meat prepared from these animals.

· Avoid hospitals where Ebola patients are being treated. The U.S. Embassy or consulate is often able to provide advice on medical facilities.

· Seek medical care immediately if you develop fever (temperature of 101.5oF/ 38.6oC) and any of the other following symptoms: headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bruising or bleeding.

o Limit your contact with other people until and when you go to the doctor. Do not travel anywhere else besides a healthcare facility.

CDC has issued a Warning, Level 3 travel notice for three countries. U.S. citizens should avoid all nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. CDC has issued an Alert, Level 2 travel notice for Nigeria. Travelers to Nigeria should take enhanced precautions to prevent Ebola. For travel notices and other information for travelers, visit the Travelers’ Health Ebola web page.

Infection Control

Can hospitals in the United States care for an Ebola patient?

Any U.S. hospital that is following CDC’s infection control recommendations and can isolate a patient in their own room‎ with a private bathroom is capable of safely managing a patient with Ebola.

· These patients need intensive supportive care; any hospital that has this capability can safely manage these patients.

· Standard, contact, and droplet precautions are recommended.

How can healthcare providers protect themselves?

Healthcare providers can take several infection control measures to protect themselves when dealing with Ebola patients.

· Anyone entering the patient’s room should wear at least gloves, a gown, eye protection (goggles or a face shield), and a facemask.

· Additional personal protective equipment (PPE) might be needed in certain situations (for example, when there is a lot of blood, vomit, feces, or other body fluids).

· Healthcare providers should frequently perform hand hygiene before and after patient contact, contact with potentially infectious material, and before putting on and after removing PPE, including gloves.

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Travelers

What is being done to prevent ill travelers in West Africa from getting on a plane?

CDC works with partners at ports of entry into the United States to help prevent infectious diseases from being introduced and spread in the United States. CDC has staff working 24/7 at 20 Border Health field offices located in international airports and land borders. CDC staff are ready 24/7 to investigate cases of ill travelers on planes and ships entering the United States.

Although someone could become infected with Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, or Sierra Leone and then fly to the United States, it is unlikely that they would spread the disease to fellow passengers. A person infected with Ebola is not contagious until symptoms appear. Nevertheless, CDC and healthcare providers in the United States need to be prepared for the remote possibility that a traveler could get Ebola and return to the United States while sick.

CDC works with key partners like Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, state and local health departments, and local Emergency Medical Services staff. CDC also works closely with the airline and cruise industries and cargo ships to ensure that suspected cases of infectious diseases are reported to CDC Quarantine Stations and that appropriate measures are taken to prevent the spread of disease. When CDC receives a report of an ill traveler on a plane, our staff work with EMS crews to evaluate the passenger on the plane, and when necessary, arrange for transfer of ill travelers to local hospitals for testing and treatment as necessary. When CDC receives a report of an ill traveler on cruise or cargo ship, we work with the shipping line to make an assessment of public health risk and to coordinate any necessary response.

CDC is providing information to partners, such as Customs and Border Protection and airlines, on signs and symptoms to look for in travelers arriving from Ebola outbreak-affected countries that should be reported to CDC quarantine station staff.

What do I do if I’m returning to the U.S. from the area where the outbreak is occurring?

After you return, pay attention to your health.

· Monitor your health for 21 days if you were in an area with an Ebola outbreak, especially if you were in contact with blood or body fluids, items that have come in contact with blood or body fluids, animals or raw meat, or hospitals where Ebola patients are being treated or participated in burial rituals.

· Seek medical care immediately if you develop fever (temperature of 101.5oF/ 38.6oC) and any of the following symptoms: headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bruising or bleeding.

· Tell your doctor about your recent travel and your symptoms before you go to the office or emergency room. Advance notice will help your doctor care for you and protect other people who may be in the office.

What do I do if I am traveling to an area where the outbreak is occurring?

If you are traveling to an area where the Ebola outbreak is occurring, protect yourself by doing the following:

· Wash your hands frequently.

· Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, particularly someone who is sick.

· Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids.

· Do not touch the body of someone who has died from Ebola.

· Do not touch bats and nonhuman primates or their blood and fluids and do not touch or eat raw meat prepared from these animals.

· Avoid hospitals where Ebola patients are being treated. The U.S. Embassy or consulate is often able to provide advice on facilities.

o Limit your contact with other people until and when you go to the doctor. Do not travel anywhere else besides a healthcare facility.

Should people traveling to Africa be worried about the outbreak?

Currently, Ebola has only been reported in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone (see Affected Countries). A small number of cases in Nigeria have been associated with a man from Liberia who traveled to Lagos and died from Ebola, but the virus does not appear to have been widely spread. CDC has issued a Warning, Level 3 travel notice for United States citizens to avoid all nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. CDC has also issued an Alert, Level 2 travel notice for travelers to Nigeria urging them to protect themselves by avoiding contact with the blood and body fluids of people who are sick with Ebola. You can find more information on these travel notices at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices.

CDC currently does not recommend that travelers avoid visiting other African countries. Although spread to other countries is possible, CDC is working with the governments of affected countries to control the outbreak. Ebola is a very low risk for most travelers – it is spread through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of a sick person, so travelers can protect themselves by avoiding sick people and hospitals where patients with Ebola are being treated.

Why were the ill Americans with Ebola brought to the U.S. for treatment? How is CDC protecting the American public?

A U.S. citizen has the right to return to the United States. Although CDC can use several measures to prevent disease from being introduced in the United States, CDC must balance the public health risk to others with the rights of the individual. In this situation, the patients who came back to the United States for care were transported with appropriate infection control procedures in place to prevent the disease from being transmitted to others.

Ebola poses no substantial risk to the U.S. general population. CDC recognizes that Ebola causes a lot of public worry and concern, but CDC’s mission is to protect the health of all Americans, including those who may become ill while overseas. Ebola patients can be transported and managed safely when appropriate precautions are used.

What does CDC’s Travel Alert Level 3 mean to U.S. travellers?

CDC recommends that U.S. residents avoid nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. If you must travel (for example, to do for humanitarian aid work in response to the outbreak) protect yourself by following CDC’s advice for avoiding contact with the blood and body fluids of people who are ill with Ebola. For more information about the travel alerts, see Travellers’ Health Ebola web page.

Travel notices are designed to inform travellers and clinicians about current health issues related to specific destinations. These issues may arise from disease outbreaks, special events or gatherings, natural disasters, or other conditions that may affect travelers’ health. A level 3 alert means that there is a high risk to travellers and that CDC advises that travelers avoid nonessential travel.

In the United States

Are there any cases of people contracting Ebola in the U.S.?

No confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in the United States, with the exception of two U.S. healthcare workers who were infected with Ebola virus in Liberia and were transported to a hospital in the United States. Both patients have been released from the hospital after laboratory testing confirmed that they no longer have Ebola virus in their blood. CDC has advised the hospital that there is no public health concern with their release and that they do not pose a risk to household contacts or to the public.

CDC has received many calls from health departments and hospitals about suspected cases of Ebola in travellers from the affected countries. These calls have been triaged appropriately and some samples have been sent to CDC for testing. All samples sent to CDC have so far been negative.

What is CDC doing in the U.S.?

CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Canter (EOC) to help coordinate technical assistance and control activities with partners. CDC has deployed several teams of public health experts to the West Africa region and plans to send additional public health experts to the affected countries to expand current response activities.

On the remote possibility that an ill traveller arrives in the U.S., CDC has protocols in place to protect against further spread of disease. These protocols include having airline crew notify CDC of ill travellers on a plane before arrival, evaluation of ill travellers, and isolation and transport to a medical facility if needed. CDC, along with Customs & Border Patrol, has also provided guidance to airlines for managing ill passengers and crew and for disinfecting aircraft. CDC has issued a Health Alert Notice reminding U.S. health care workers about the importance of taking steps to prevent the spread of this virus, how to test and isolate patients with suspected cases, and how to protect themselves from infection.

THE IMPACT OF EBOLA VIRUS ON THE WORK FORCE

2014-09-16T05:25:00.004-07:00

MORE than 1,900 people have so far died from Ebola in the four affected west African countries, but many more will suffer the economic consequences. Governments reckon the worst of those effects are yet to be felt, but they are still busy trying to calculate what the outbreak is going to cost them. Here are Liberia’s thoughts:

The tiny post-conflict country has been growing at upwards of 8% over the last couple of years, but won’t expect anything like that kind of luck now. The government is still number-crunching with the International Monetary Fund, but it reckons Ebola will shave more than 2% of growth rates this year, putting estimates at 3.5%.

Finance minister Amara Konneh says that’s mostly because of damage done to mining, agriculture and service industries, as investors evacuate foreign workers, borders close, and international flights are suspended. Bread-basket regions are under quarantine, making agricultural trade impossible. Sime Darby, the world’s largest listed producer of oil palm, is slowing production and Sifca Group, an Ivory Coast-based agribusiness, has halted rubber exports. MrKonneh expects iron ore exports to fall in 2015 because investors like China Union and Arcelor Mittal are scaling down their operations and putting expansion plans on hold. Foreign exchange shortages are a big concern.

The finance ministry is bracing itself for up to $30m in lost revenues; a “significant” amount, it says, in the context of its meagre budget. Add to that the high cost of fighting the virus, and the country will run up a big fiscal deficit, even in light of international assistance. The government is putting in place fiscal austerity measures to compensate for that, including suspending all official foreign travel. But it may still may have to turn to the IMF for additional help.

Right now, Mr Konneh says, the priority is that the government allocates enough money to the healthcare sector. After that, it worries about paying its public servants. Security to enforce quarantines and curfews comes next. The rest, for now, may have to wait.

About Ebola Virus Disease

2014-09-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is one of numerous Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers. It is a severe, often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).

Ebola is caused by infection with a virus of the family Filoviridae, genus Ebolavirus. When infection occurs, symptoms usually begin abruptly. The firstEbolavirus species was discovered in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo near the Ebola River. Since then, outbreaks have appeared sporadically.

There are five identified subspecies of Ebolavirus. Four of the five have caused disease in humans: Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus); Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus); and Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). The fifth, Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus), has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.

The natural reservoir host of ebolaviruses remains unknown. However, on the basis of available evidence and the nature of similar viruses, researchers believe that the virus is zoonotic (animal-borne) with bats being the most likely reservoir. Four of the five subtypes occur in an animal host native to Africa.

A host of similar species is probably associated with Reston virus, which was isolated from infected cynomolgous monkeys imported to the United States and Italy from the Philippines. Several workers in the Philippines and in US holding facility outbreaks became infected with the virus, but did not become ill
.

9 questions about this new Ebola drug.

2014-09-15T05:05:00.002-07:00

Ebola virus strand

Two American missionary workers infected with the deadly Ebola virus were given an experimental drug that seems to have saved their lives.

Dr. Kent Brantly was given the medication, ZMapp, shortly after telling his doctors he thought he would die, according to a source familiar with his case. Within an hour, doctors say his symptoms -- labored breathing and a widespread rash -- dramatically improved. Nancy Writebol, another missionary working with Samaritan's Purse, received two doses of the medication and has also shown significant improvement, sources say.

As there is no proven treatment and no vaccine for Ebola, this experimental drug is raising lots of questions.

1. Who makes the drug?

The drug was developed by the biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., which is based in San Diego. The company was founded in 2003 "to develop novel pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, focusing on unmet needs in global health and biodefense," according to its website.

Mapp Biopharmaceutical has been working with the National Institutes of Health and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, an arm of the military responsible for countering weapons of mass destruction, to develop an Ebola treatment for several years.

2. Are there other experimental Ebola drugs out there?

Yes. In March, the NIH awarded a five-year,$28 million grant to establish a collaboration between researchers from 15 institutions who were working to fight Ebola.

"A whole menu of antibodies have been identified as potentially therapeutic, and researchers are eager to figure out which combinations are most effective and why," a news release about the grant said.

Tekmira, a Vancouver-based company that has a $140 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop an Ebola drug, began Phase 1 trials with its drug in January. But the FDA recently halted the trial, asking for more information.

Map: The Ebola outbreak

At least one potential Ebola vaccine has been tested in healthy human volunteers, according to Thomas Geisbert, a leading researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch. And last week, the NIH announced a safety trial of another Ebola vaccine will start as early as September.

3. How does ZMapp work?

Antibodies are proteins used by the immune system to mark and destroy foreign, or harmful, cells. A monoclonal antibody is similar, except it's engineered in a lab so it will attach to specific parts of a dangerous cell, according to the Mayo Clinic, mimicking your immune system's natural response. Monoclonal antibodies are used to treat many different types of conditions.

West African Ebola epidemic

Sources told CNN the medicine given to Brantly and Writebol abroad was a three-mouse monoclonal antibody, meaning that mice were exposed to fragments of the Ebola virus and then the antibodies generated within the mice's blood were harvested to create the medicine.

However, the drug can also be produced with proteins made from tobacco plants. ZMapp manufacturer Kentucky BioProcessing in Owensboro has been working with Samaritan's Purse and Emory University Hospital to provide limited quantities of the drug to Emory, according to company spokesman David Howard.

4. Why did American missionary workers get the drug?

Many have asked why these two workers received the experimental drug when so many -- around 1,600 -- others in West Africa also have the virus.

The World Health Organization says it was not involved in the decision to treat Brantly and Writebol. Both patients had to give consent to receive the drug, knowing it had never been tested in humans before.

The process by which the medication was made available to the American patients may have fallen under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "compassionate use" regulation, which allows access to investigational drugs outside clinical trials.

5. Did doctors know it would work?

No. The drug had shown promise in primates, but even in those experiments, just eight monkeys received the treatment. In any case, the human immune system can react differently than primates', which is why drugs are required to undergo human clinical trials before being approved by government agencies for widespread use.

The two Americans' cases will be studied further to determine how the drug worked with their immune systems.

6. Will the drug be made available to other Ebola patients?

It's unclear. Rolling out an untested drug during a massive outbreak would be very difficult, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. Experimental drugs typically not mass-produced, and tracking the success of such a drug if used would require extra medical staff where resources are already scarce.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says scientists have to be careful about assuming this drug will work in other patients as it appears to have worked in Brantly.

"Having worked with administering antibodies for people for a really long time, that would be distinctly unusual," he told CNN. "As we all know in medicine ... you have to withhold judgment."

7. Does the company have more vials of the drug?

The company has very few doses ready for patient use, Fauci told CNN.

"(Kentucky BioProcessing) is working closely with Mapp, various government agencies, and other parties to increase production of ZMapp, but this process will take several months," Howard said.

8. Who paid for the drug and how much did it cost?

We don't know. Samaritan's Purse covered the cost of Brantly and Writebol's evacuations but did not pay for the drug, according to a spokesman.

When a patient gets an experimental drug, the drug company can donate the product under compassionate use. Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. might have done that in this case.

Health insurance companies typically do not pick up the tab for treatments that have not been approved by the FDA. But they usually would cover the cost of any doctor fees associated with giving the drug and any costs associated with monitoring how the drug is working.

9. Would this drug stop the Ebola epidemic?

If it were widely available, it certainly couldn't hurt. An effective Ebola drug could help doctors treat the deadly virus, which is killing about 60% of the people infected in West Africa. But a vaccine would be a much more effective tool in stopping this, and future, epidemics.

Vaccines are given to healthy people to prevent them from ever becoming infected. One challenge with Ebola, experts say, is that companies don't believe they could make much money from developing a vaccine, so few companies show interest.

Ebola cases in Nigeria

2014-09-15T04:53:00.000-07:00

The Rivers State Government has said the sister to the late Dr. Iyke Samuel Enemuo, Chinyere, who fled to Abia State after her brother died of the Ebola virus, has returned to Port Harcourt and has developed symptoms of the disease.

Briefing journalists on the efforts by the Rivers State Government to combat the spread of the virus in Nigeria’s oil hub, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker, also disclosed that the corpse of the late Enemuo would be buried this week in Port Harcourt “in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) protocol”.

He said Chinyere had been quarantined at the isolation centre at Oduoha in Emuoha Local Government Area of the state.

“She (Chinyere) earlier ran to Abia State apparently because of the stigma which people arrogate to the Ebola virus. We were able to trace her with the help of our brother commissioner in Abia State. She developed feverish symptoms and she has been admitted at the isolation unit at Oduoha for observation and treatment.

“She is among the 50 high-risk contacts on our list. We decided to take her to the isolation unit to make assurance surer. We are currently running a test on her and the result will be out by Tuesday (today) or thereabouts. We chose to isolate her because we don’t want to go through the same experience we had with the diplomat, Olubukun Koye,” he stated.

The commissioner commended Chinyere for summoning the courage to come out from hiding, but said: “The major problem we are having is that some of the primary and secondary contacts are hiding. We are grateful to the operatives from the Department of State Security (DSS) for assisting us in tracking them.”
On the remains of the late Enemuo, Parker said his corpse and the other corpses that were in the morgue when his remains were brought to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, including those that were brought after his body was deposited, would be buried in Port Harcourt this week.

2012-11-01T04:06:00.000-07:00

Quitting Smoking; the Role of Strong Motivation
Growing up was very interesting because of a friend you had. The friend made you feel more mature and seemed to help you fit in with your other peers. But in time, you discovered his dark side. He demands to be with you always; even if this makes you feel terrible. He did also cost you, your health dearly. And finally stole a part of your wages. Trying to break off in recent times but he has not let you. This is a false friend and this friend is “CIGARETTE “. This is the relationship smokers have with cigarette.
Some smokers see cigarette as an helper and they prefer it more than having someone around them. To them it is more than just a friend but an only friend. At times, people willinigly stop the art of smoking only to find them thirsty for it and seriously searching for it again. Why does tobacco have such a grip on people? It was discovered that
Tobacco products can be as addictive as illicit drugs
Inhaled nicotine may reach the brain in just seconds and
Smoking is often woven into a person’s life by its regular association with eating, drinking, conversing, the relief of stress.
It is possible to stop this harmful addiction. Should cigarette addicts use medications to quit smoking?. The use of medications help smokers quit. The benefits of using medications will increase your chances of quitting by reducing withdrawal symptoms. But this is not effective on the long run. Some medications have potential side effects such as nausea, depression and suicidal thoughts. It is worthy to note that nicotine – replacement therapies simply provide another form of the drug, along with its health risk. In reality, therefore, the person using them is still in a state of addiction. Stopping smoking abruptly, makes smokers develop cool feet without the use of medications.
Withdrawal symptons includes sleeplessness, aching, itching, sweating and coughing as well as change in moods demonstrated by impatience, proneness to anger, or even depression.
However, if you want to quit smoking, you should at least have a very strong motivation. For one thing, consider how much better off you will be if you quit smoking.
You will save money. A pack –a- day habit can cost a fortune over the year. But when you make up your mind to quit, your money remains with you. This (money) can be used for a better thing.
Get more out of life. Life will be very pleasant when you give up smoking. When you stop smoking, your sense of taste and smell improves drastically, with an improved physical appearance.
Improvement in your well – being –health. Quitting smoking has major and immediate health benefits for you. You will be free from life treating sickness such as cancer, heart disease e.t.c
Family and friends will benefit a lot. Smoking hurts the health of those around you. It is believed that smoking causes death each yer from lung cancer and heart disease.

Diabetes Health Condition; Prevention And Control

2012-11-01T02:48:00.001-07:00

-->What is diabetes health condition? This is an health condition where blood sugar levels are abnormally high. The challenge in treatment is to normalize those levels and keep them there so that you can side step the often terrible complications. The disease comes in three sweet flavours; they are

i. Type 1 diabetes

ii. Type 2 diabetes

iii. Gestational diabetes

Even, if you have prediabetes you can keep full blown diabetes at bay. How? Eating of a prudent diet rich whole grains,fruits and vegetables, and lean protein sources; getting regular physical exercise; and losing a little weight. It is worthy to note that there is no downside o having a healthier lifestyle, except an upside. It’s well known that carrying extra weight increases insulin resistance. You can still be able to avoid diabetes, if you lack diabetes gene but if you do, your beta cells may lose the battle to keep your supplies of insulin , and your blood sugar will soar straight to diabetes land.

It is worthy to note that weight control is easier to talk about then do when you have insulin resistance, but eating less food and lower calorie food along with some moderate exercise will produce result if you are a patient. What you need to know about keeping the surplus pounds off is captured in the basic diction “ calories in calories out”. In essence, any calories you don’t burn will make your jeans tight, so you need to match your calories itake to your exercise level.

The fundamental diabetic prevention / management diet sticks pretty close to what we’ve come to know as basic holistic nutritional advice. Lots of fruits and vegetables although diabetics should stick to non – starch vegetables like spinach, carrots, or broccoli and avoid starchy ones like potatoes, which rush sugar into the system. Whole grains instead of processed ones, because the former are , given, slower to increase blood sugar. Non fat dairy products, liquids oils for cooking instead of solid fats like margarine. Lean meats lie skinned poultry. Omega -3 fatty acids from sources such as cold water fish or flax seed. Beans and lentils.

Water unsweetened tea, and the likes instead of calorie – containing drinks such as soda, fruit punch, and coffee with milk and sugar. Modest portion sizes. And go light on high – calorie snack foods and desserts. The diabetic diet follows principles that anyone with a rudimentry knowledge of healthy eating understands; low fat, low cholesterol, high fibre, few saturated or trans – fats, lots of frsh foods, few processed foods. But it differs from other health diet formulations, such as a heart healthy diet, in one important respect: the percentage of carbohydrates.

Adeyeye Adeniran

Dieting habits

2011-06-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

Dieting habits
Because of the occupied labor and important pace of life, progressive dwell in reimburse not as much of and not as much of attention to their on a daily basis diet. Over moment, they will without problems form particular bad behavior in dieting. These bad behavior are not no more than very dangerous to their body, but possibly will and cause premature senility.

The head bad addiction: Ingestion minute noodles on behalf of breakfast.
Often ingestion minute noodles on behalf of breakfast is very dangerous to the wellbeing and development of individual body. Because the individual body needs six categories of nutrients to be adamant its typical physiological metabolism, but the focal factor of minute noodles is carbohydrate. It lacks of other essential nutrients. Since a answer, if you breakfast minute noodles as breakfast on behalf of a long moment, it will cause lightheadedness, lack of energy, shudder, and so on. If it is brutal, it can even cause substance loss, muscle atrophy and other symptoms of undernourishment.

The moment bad addiction: Drinking granite dampen as a substitute of plain boiled dampen.
Many dwell in think so as to granite dampen contains a well-built quantity of raw materials, so they can supplant plain boiled dampen by granite dampen. However, they rarely know so as to granite dampen possibly will and be unhygienic by the dangerous substances in the obtain. Recently, the Dutch scientists regain out cold so as to granite dampen is more vulnerable to the contamination of dangerous microbes and bacteria. Although these bacteria possibly will not cause absolute warning on individual body, but on behalf of individuals whose exemption is relatively weak, the bacteria limited in bottled granite dampen possibly will cause serious danger on their body.

The third bad addiction: Ingestion livestock meat as a substitute of fish.
Many dwell in like ingestion livestock meat considerably than fish. Although the amount and incorporation rate of protein limited in these two kinds of food are like, but the constitution of fat is distinct. The fat in fish contains one polyunsaturated greasy acid, which theater a beneficial role in the development of children's brain and in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. While livestock meat, especially red meat, principally contains saturated greasy acid, which is not beneficial to individual wellbeing.

The fourth bad addiction: Ingestion fruits as a substitute of vegetables.
Both fruits and vegetables contain heaps of vitamins. Therefore, many dwell in think so as to, as long as they breakfast particular fruits each time, they can breakfast not as much of or even figure out not breakfast several vegetables. Fashionable verity, vegetables are essential to individual body. They can effectively promote the incorporation of proteins, fats and carbohydrates by the body. If dwell in no more than breakfast bodily food, the incorporation rate of protein is no more than 70%, but if they breakfast vegetables by the side of the same moment, the incorporation rate can get through to 90%.

Dieting types

2011-06-30T03:44:00.000-07:00

DIETING TYPES
Here's a look on roughly of the mainly joint diets associates are using.

The Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is based on extreme protein, low-carbohydrate fare. It allows all of the meat and vegetables you desire with refusal restrictions on fats. Fruits are set aside to a least possible. Bread, pasta, and other grain products are restricted. Many associates obtain had importance loss sensation on the Atkins' Diet for the reason that it offers many delicious food options. However, it can be extreme in fat, potential hurtful completed long periods of period and low in fiber and calcium.

The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet

This is one more compact carbohydrate diet to allows meats, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and grain products, but restricts all other carbohydrates. It tends to be quite extreme in fat and saturated fat.

The Choose to Lose Diet

This is a low fat diet to allows you to lunch from all of the major food groups. You are lone restricted by a "fat budget" to you want how to finish. Carbohydrates are tolerable, as well as lean meat, pullet, seafood, fruits, vegetables, bread and pasta. The Choose to Lose Diet allows an ample amount of fruits and vegetables and it is low in saturated fat and it provides a justly healthy consumption map used for fast importance loss.

The DASH Diet

The DASH diet allows used for a extreme carbohydrate intake, with moderate amounts of fat and protein. It was originally designed as a low-pressure diet. The DASH diet follows the values of the Food Pyramid, but it suggests more servings of fruits and vegetables (up to nine day by day,) and more dairy servings (two to three day by day servings of low fat or nonfat dairy.) The DASH diet can require too much food used for mainly associates to notice importance loss results.

The Eat additional Weigh Less Diet

This diet is an very low-fat diet to focuses on vegetarian fare. It allows fruits, vegetables, full grains, beans, egg whites, and roughly nonfat dairy products. This is a very restricted diet to limits even healthy foods like lean organic meats, pullet, and low-fat dairy products. This diet is impressive used for vegetarians, but it is low in calcium, and it can be too recalcitrant used for mainly associates to go after long sufficient to notice importance loss results.

The Eat Right For Your Blood Type Diet

This diet map bases you food choices on your blood type. For paradigm, folks with Type O blood go after an consumption map to includes lots of meat. Some of the "blood type" diets in this map are too restricted in calories and they can be poor in nutritional balance. A small amount testimony is vacant on basis of the diet, to blood type ought to affect dietary choices.

The Pritkin Principle Diet

This diet focuses on restricting calories and consumption more "watery" foods to fill you up more rapidly. (It follows the same theory to suggests you ought to drink a satisfied beaker of irrigate ahead of each one meal to produce your stomach feel satisfied more rapidly. It allows fruits, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, soups, salads, and low-fat dairy, but limits protein sources to lean meats, pullet and seafood. This is a low-fat diet to offers masses of fruits and vegetables, but it can be low in calcium.

The Protein Power Diet

This is a very high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. It allows used for lots of meats and fats but limits to consumption of fruits and vegetables. This is a very restrictive diet to limits healthy foods like full grains and beans. It is very extreme in fat, especially saturated fat and it is very low in calcium.

Power Busters

This is a low-carbohydrate diet to is extreme in fat and protein. Fruits and grain products are forbidden, but high-fat meats and dairy products are tolerable. Like many other low-carb diets, the Power Busters diet is extreme in fat, extreme in saturated fat, and low in calcium.

The Slimirex Diet

I highly counsel the Slimirex diet. I've found make use of of importance loss outcome Slimirex combined with moderate employ on slightest three period apiece week and a moderate diet to be an operational method of losting the importance you desire.

Volumetrics

The Volumetrics diet is a restricted calorie diet to allows fruits, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, soups, salads, lean meats, pullet, seafood and dairy. High fat food and "dry" foods like crackers, pretzels, and popcorn are restricted. It is low in saturated fat and provides an ample amount of fruits and vegetables..

Weight Watchers

This diet does not check followers to a rest meal map. Dieters are able to map their own diet all daytime following a aspect order to allows the dieter to finish a a number of "allowance" in each one sort. This diet allows moderate fat and protein intake and extreme carbohydrate consumption. Generally, vegetables and full grain products obtain the lowest aspect cherish and extreme fat foods "cost" the mainly amount of points.

The Zone Diet

This diet is moderately extreme in protein and low in carbohydrates. It allows low fat foods like chicken and fish and masses of fruits and vegetables. But full grains are restricted. This is a healthy consumption map, although it is low in calcium.

Diet reviews

2011-06-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a look on around of the largely familiar diets population are using.

The Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is based on lofty protein, low-carbohydrate fare. It allows all of the meat and vegetables you neediness with rejection restrictions on fats. Fruits are set aside to a most minuscule. Bread, pasta, and other grain products are restricted. Many population take had consequence loss sensation on the Atkins' Diet since it offers many delicious food options. However, it can be lofty in fat, achievable unsafe ended long periods of point and low in fiber and calcium.

The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet

This is an additional concentrated carbohydrate diet to facilitate allows meats, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and grain products, but restricts all other carbohydrates. It tends to be quite lofty in fat and saturated fat.

The Choose to Lose Diet

This is a low fat diet to facilitate allows you to gorge from all of the major food groups. You are merely restricted by a "fat budget" to facilitate you decide on how to consume. Carbohydrates are allowable, as well as lean meat, hen, seafood, fruits, vegetables, bread and pasta. The Choose to Lose Diet allows an ample amount of fruits and vegetables and it is low in saturated fat and it provides a absolutely healthy consumption proposal on behalf of fast consequence loss.

The DASH Diet

The DASH diet allows on behalf of a lofty carbohydrate intake, with moderate amounts of fat and protein. It was originally designed as a low-pressure diet. The DASH diet follows the philosophy of the Food Pyramid, but it suggests more servings of fruits and vegetables (up to nine day after day,) and more dairy servings (two to three day after day servings of low fat or nonfat dairy.) The DASH diet possibly will require too much food on behalf of largely population to meet consequence loss results.

The Eat supplementary Weigh Less Diet

This diet is an very low-fat diet to facilitate focuses on vegetarian fare. It allows fruits, vegetables, entire grains, beans, egg whites, and around nonfat dairy products. This is a very restricted diet to facilitate limits even healthy foods like lean organic meats, hen, and low-fat dairy products. This diet is remarkable on behalf of vegetarians, but it is low in calcium, and it possibly will be too tough on behalf of largely population to result long a sufficient amount to meet consequence loss results.

The Eat Right For Your Blood Type Diet

This diet proposal bases you food choices on your blood type. For paradigm, persons with Type O blood result an consumption proposal to facilitate includes lots of meat. Some of the "blood type" diets in this proposal are too restricted in calories and they possibly will be poor in nutritional balance. Not a lot impervious is obtainable on basis of the diet, to facilitate blood type must affect dietary choices.

The Pritkin Principle Diet

This diet focuses on restricting calories and consumption more "watery" foods to facilitate fill you up faster. (It follows the same assumption to facilitate suggests you must drink a packed flute of run earlier than each one meal to generate your stomach feel packed quicker. It allows fruits, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, soups, salads, and low-fat dairy, but limits protein sources to lean meats, hen and seafood. This is a low-fat diet to facilitate offers lots of fruits and vegetables, but it can be low in calcium.

The Protein Power Diet

This is a very high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. It allows on behalf of lots of meats and fats but limits to facilitate consumption of fruits and vegetables. This is a very restrictive diet to facilitate limits healthy foods like entire grains and beans. It is very lofty in fat, especially saturated fat and it is very low in calcium.

Power Busters

This is a low-carbohydrate diet to facilitate is lofty in fat and protein. Fruits and grain products are forbidden, but high-fat meats and dairy products are allowable. Like many other low-carb diets, the Power Busters diet is lofty in fat, lofty in saturated fat, and low in calcium.

The Slimirex Diet

I highly advise the Slimirex diet. I've found treatment of consequence loss consequence Slimirex combined with moderate training on slightest three period for every week and a moderate diet to be an successful method of losting the consequence you neediness.

Volumetrics

The Volumetrics diet is a restricted calorie diet to facilitate allows fruits, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, soups, salads, lean meats, hen, seafood and dairy. High fat food and "dry" foods like crackers, pretzels, and popcorn are restricted. It is low in saturated fat and provides an ample amount of fruits and vegetables..

Weight Watchers

This diet does not contain followers to a rest meal proposal. Dieters are able to proposal their own diet all period following a spit method to facilitate allows the dieter to consume a reliable "allowance" in each one grouping. This diet allows moderate fat and protein intake and lofty carbohydrate consumption. Generally, vegetables and entire grain products take the lowest spit appreciate and lofty fat foods "cost" the largely amount of points.

The Zone Diet

This diet is moderately lofty in protein and low in carbohydrates. It allows low fat foods like chicken and fish and lots of fruits and vegetables. But entire grains are restricted. This is a healthy consumption proposal, although it is low in calcium.