Soldiers and Buni Yadi residents rejoice after returning to their community a year after they fled

They returned to their community over the weekend. 

3,800 shops destroyed by fire at Sabon Gari market in Kano - DG NEMA

The Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says at least 3,800 shops were destroyed by Saturday’s fire incident at the Sabon Gari Market, Kano.

Sani-Sidi, told newsmen at the scene of the incident in Kano, that the interim assessment of the situation, indicated that more than 90 per cent of the market had been destroyed by the fire.

 

"It is unfortunate that from the record more than 90 per cent of the market has been burnt. “Base on the report, more than 3, 800 shops and quite a number of buildings were razed by the inferno," he said.

He explained that no fewer than 15 persons sustained various degrees of injury during the incident, adding that the injured were already receiving treatment at the hospitals. He said the agency was working closely with the state government to ensure that the victims received proper treatment at the hospital.

"Assessment is still ongoing and the state government has mobilised over 100 trucks to clear the rubble," Sidi said.

He said that lack of access roads made it slightly difficult for fire-fighting vehicles to have easy access to the market while the fire was raging.

"The incident was unprecedented and overwhelming and can negatively affect the economy of the country," he said.

 

7 Lassa fever patients found missing from medical centre in Taraba State

                               

Seven patients with Lassa fever who were admitted at the Federal Medical Centre in Jalingo Taraba State have are reportedly missing.
The management of the Hospital said they are doing all they can to arrest the patients and return them to the hospital.

The Chairperson, Lassa Fever Committee at the medical centre, Dr Aisha Sani said:

“Seven persons had absconded. We are making frantic efforts to arrest and bring them back to the hospital before they infect others with the disease. We have our internal securities here, but the truth is that we need more to secure the Lassa fever unit,”.

Lassa fever has killed 14 people in the state so far this year.

What makes you more attractive to mosquitoes isn't how good you taste

For some, mosquito bites are an annoyance on our arms and legs and all parts of the body. While some people are plagued by mosquitoes, others seem immune to it.
As it turns out, how attractive you are to a mosquito might have less to do with how your blood tastes and more to do with how you smell.
There are a trillion or so microbes that live on our skin that play a huge role in body odor. Without those bacteria, human sweat wouldn't smell at all.
However,for everyone, the bacteria vary widely. While we share 99.9% of DNA with other humans, our microbes are much more diverse, in part because they're influenced by our lifestyle.

A small 2011 study found that those microbes produce different chemicals. And some of those smell more attractive to the insects.
To demonstrate this, researchers asked 48 adult male volunteers to refrain from alcohol, garlic, spicy food, and showers for two days, as these factors could interfere with the kinds of microbes that thrive on the men's skin.
The men wore nylon socks for 24 hours to build up their collection of unique skin microbes, which the researchers then used to collect their scent as bait for some malaria-carrying Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.

Out of the 48 men, nine proved to be especially attractive to mosquitoes. Another seven men were largely ignored by the insects.

So the researchers looked at the microbe profiles for each of the men. Not surprisingly, the "highly attractive" group had more than twice as high a concentration of one common skin microbe, and more than three times higher concentration of another common microbe compared to the "poorly attractive group."

Overall, that poorly attractive group had a more diverse bacterial colony on their skin, findings that suggest some people's smell may act as a natural deterrent for mosquitoes.
Scientists have also looked into how smells influence the behavior of the mosquito species that's responsible for transmitting Zika and dengue — the Aedes aegypti.

For one of these studies, researchers analyzed the chemicals produced by skin microbes and found that some of them appear to attract particular mosquitoes. One they found is lactic acid. (In addition to being produced naturally by our bodies, it's also found in milk and cheese.)

When mixed with the carbon dioxide we breathe out, lactic acid makes for a potent combination that attracts female A. aegypti mosquitoes. In particular, Limburger cheese, which tends to smell like body odor, was a definite mosquito attractant.

So in conclusion, being attractive to mosquitoes is all about smells, and the kinds of microbes that produce them.

                              

Tiwa Savage shares adorable photo with her son

                             

Singer Tiwa Savage shared this very adorbale photo on her Instagram page and wrote

"Good Morning yummy mummies as most people are starting their day, we've probably been up for a few hours now as babies know how to interrupt our beauty sleep but that's ok because we love them more than anything. Anyhow Jamil is 6 months now and this morning I thought I heard him trying to say DaDa, Ahhhhh  I just quickly started saying MaMa MaMa MaMa before my husband heard, I mean I carried you for how many months, you come resemble your papa, now you wan come say daddy name first. Rara o, I go do ojoro LOL  but all jokes apart every new stage with your baby is so amazing, from first smile to first words to first steps. What was your babies first words". 

Lassa fever kills two in Plateau as Delta state records first case

                            
Two people lost their lives after they contracted the now prevalent Lassa fever in Plateau state. The State commissioner for Health, Dr. Kuden Kamshak who confirmed the death of the two victims yesterday January 18th, said they died at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) where they were being treated. This brings to three the number of people that have died from the disease in Plateau state.


The State Commissioner says the government and the World Health Organization are working towards containing the virus

“The state with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is working round the clock to contain the spread of the virus”.

Meanwhile a 65 year old woman has been diagnosed with the deadly fever in Delta state. The unidentified woman who is from Ifiogwari village, Ayamelunu, Anambra state, is said to have come to Asaba for treatment after a suffering prolonged fever. She was first admitted at St. Joseph’s Hospital, from where she was referred to Federal Medical Centre, Asaba when her conditioned worsened. The case was confirmed at the virology laboratory, Specialist Hospital, Irrua, Edo State.

Lassa fever is a viral disease transmitted by infected rats. The rats spread the disease by contaminating food or water in any dirty environment. Infected persons spread the disease when their body fluids such as blood, feces, urine, sperm and vomit come in contact with others. Some signs and symptoms of Lassa fever infection include cold and fever, sore throat, headache, pains in different parts of the body, nausea, cough, diarrhea and general sense of being unwell.

A high rise building at Bar Beach Towers was on fire this morning

             

A flat in one of the high rise buildings at Bar Beach Tower, an estate just opposite Bar Beach in Victoria Island was on fire this morning. 

What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is an uncommon type of cancer that occurs in the tissues covering your lungs or your tummy (abdomen). Past exposure to asbestos is a risk factor for mesothelioma. Initial symptoms are variable but can include shortness of breath, chest pain or abdominal swelling. Although a cure is often not possible, there are different treatments to help any symptoms you may have.

What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease of the cells in the body. The body is made up from millions of tiny cells. There are many different types of cell in the body and there are many different types of cancer which arise from different types of cell. What all types of cancer have in common is that the cancer cells are abnormal and multiply 'out of control'.

A malignant tumour is a 'lump' or 'growth' of tissue made up from cancer cells which continue to multiply. Malignant tumours invade into nearby tissues and organs, which can cause damage. Malignant tumours may also spread to other parts of the body. This happens if some cells break off from the first (primary) tumour and are carried in the bloodstream or lymph channels to other parts of the body. These small groups of cells may then multiply to form 'secondary' tumours (metastases) in one or more parts of the body. These secondary tumours may then grow, invade and damage nearby tissues and spread again.

Some cancers are more serious than others, some are more easily treated than others (particularly if diagnosed at an early stage) and some have a better outlook than others.

So, cancer is not just one condition. In each case it is important to know exactly what type of cancer has developed, how large it has become and whether it has spread. This will enable you to obtain reliable information on treatment options and outlook.

See separate leaflet called What is Cancer? for further details about cancer in general.

What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that occurs in the tissues which cover your lungs or tummy (abdomen). The lining around the lungs is the pleura and in the abdomen it is called the peritoneum.

About 2,700 people in the UK are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Men are five times more likely than women to develop a mesothelioma. It most commonly occurs in people aged over 75 years.

Mesothelioma most commonly occurs in your pleura - the linings of your lungs. There are two layers of pleura - one lining your lungs and the other lining your chest wall. These two layers have some fluid in between them so they can slide over each other easily when you breathe in and out.

In a similar way, the lining of your abdomen also has two layers - one lining your bowel and abdominal organs and the other lining your abdominal wall. A mesothelioma occurring in your peritoneum is far less common than a mesothelioma occurring in the pleura.

Very rarely, mesothelioma can occur around your heart or your testicles (testes). This leaflet will not discuss these rare types of mesothelioma.

What causes mesothelioma?

A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply 'out of control'. Certain risk factors increase the chance of certain cancers forming. See separate leaflet called What Causes Cancer? for more details.

The most important risk factor for developing mesothelioma is being exposed to asbestos in the past. Around nine out of ten people with a mesothelioma have been exposed to asbestos in the past. A mesothelioma may even occur up to 50 years after you have been exposed to asbestos.

Compensation is possible if your mesothelioma is due to asbestos exposure. This can be done either through benefits paid by the government or, if you believe your mesothelioma is due to asbestos exposure within a work environment, by suing the employer in question for the period (or periods) during which you were exposed to asbestos.

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a material that was used in buildings in the past. It is an insulating material that is both heat-resistant and fire-resistant. There are different types of asbestos: white, brown and blue. Although they are all harmful, blue and brown asbestos are the most strongly linked with mesotheliomas and they have not been imported into the UK since 1985. However, they are still present in some buildings and equipment produced before the ban. White asbestos has been banned in the UK since 1999.

Asbestos materials which are left undisturbed are probably safe. It is asbestos dust or fibres which cause the harm when they are breathed in (inhaled) or swallowed (ingested).

Note: the majority of people who have been exposed to asbestos in the past are not likely to develop mesothelioma. However, it is not possible to identify which people exposed to asbestos are likely to develop mesothelioma in the future. As a general rule, the greater and more prolonged the exposure, the greater the risk.

What are the symptoms of mesothelioma?

The symptoms depend on the site of the mesothelioma. It often takes many years after being exposed to asbestos for mesothelioma to occur.

In the early stages, there may be no symptoms at all. Both types of mesothelioma can cause nonspecific symptoms such as increasing tiredness, weight loss, increased sweating and a reduction in your appetite.

When mesothelioma develops in the pleura, this causes the pleura to thicken and it may press inwards on the lung.

Symptoms may then include:

• Shortness of breath. This may be due to the pleura becoming thickened and pressing in towards your lung. In addition, an increase in the amount of fluid may also collect between the two layers of the pleura (a pleural effusion).
• Chest pain. This can be quite severe and can be due to the mesothelioma pressing on the nerves and even the bones near your lung.
• Cough.
• Hoarse voice.

Tummy (abdominal) swelling may occur if you have mesothelioma in your peritoneum. The lining of the abdomen becomes thickened and fluid can collect in the abdomen (ascites).

If the cancer spreads to other parts of the body then various other symptoms can develop.

to be continue........