LEGENDINFO

Nigeria has been named among eight African countries that contributed to a clinical trial leading to the approval of the first malaria treatment for newborns and infants weighing less than five kilograms. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention applauded Nigeria for its role in the trials in a statement released on Sunday. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the treatment, an infant-friendly artemether-lumefantrine, is the first of its kind for children under five kilograms. It dissolves in breast milk and comes with a sweet flavour to make administration easier for newborns. Until now, babies in this weight category had no approved malaria treatment. Health workers often had to modify doses of medicines meant for older children, a practice that carried the risk of overdose and toxicity. Swiss regulators have already approved the formulation, while Nigeria and the other participating countries are expected to fast-track clearance under the Swiss agency’s Marketing Au...

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country is not under “serious threat for now” for the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV).  While there have been concerns over the outbreak of the virus in certain parts of the world, the NCDC has assured Nigerians that the country is safe and there is no cause for alarm. “Let me say, there’s no serious threat for now. That’s one. Two, this HMPV virus, it’s not a new virus. It’s just that it’s not well-known. But it’s been implicated in many respiratory infections over the years, over the countries, especially in children, and elderly people,” the NCDC Director-General Jide Idris said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s  Sunrise Daily “Just like the normal flu, old virus or influenza, respiratory virus, it’s just one of those causes of respiratory problems.” ‘We Learned our Lessons’ The NCDC boss said the country is monitoring the situation and is on high alert with no cases reported in Nigeria yet. “We are in a ...