Senate urges National Primary Health Care to authenticate claim of Maduike Ezeibe of having a cure for HIV

On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare, Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases, urged the National Primary Health Care Development Agency to authenticate the claim of Prof. Maduike Ezeibe, of having a cure for HIV.

USAID: 94,000 pregnant women HIV positive in Zamfara

No fewer than 94,141 pregnant women are said to be HIV/AIDS positive in Zamfara.

A United States Agency for International Aids (USAID) funded programme said this through Management Services for Health Organisation the USAID Prevention and Organisational Systems-AIDS Care and Treatment (PRO-ACT).

The team leader of the organisation, Mr Aminu Sarki, spoke at the end of a seven-year treatment and support rolling plan for those living with HIV in the state in Gusau on Thursday.

Sarki said more than 500 women living with HIV received anti-retroviral drugs in the state during the period.

He said 4,436 persons living with HIV in the state were cared for by his organisation.

He explained that the project was aimed at strengthening the capacity of the country’s public, private and community sectors for sustainable HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis prevention, control, care and treatment within the health system.

He said his organisation had succeeded in providing services at four comprehensive care and treatment sites as well as trained health personnel in 19 Management Sciences for Health (MSH) supported facilities in injection, safety and waste management.

He said as the project was winding up in the state by November, there was need for the state government to takeover and continue in order to eliminate HIV in the state.

While applauding the services rendered by the organisation in the state, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Abdullahi Shinkafi, assured that the state government would soon study and takeover in order to sustain the programme.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was conducted in the five states of Niger, Kwara, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

Highlight of the event was the presentation of certificates of appreciation to the programme participants.

HIV, Cancer Risks of oral sex you must know

 

It is usually assumed that one does not need to worry about protection when it comes to oral sex. This is due to the belief that it is unlikely for someone to contact a Sexually Transmitted Disease, STD since genitals are not actually in contact with each other.
Sadly, this is a wrong assumption. Oral sex without protection pose the following risks.
HIV: HIV virus can be transmitted through bodily fluids like semen and saliva. However, the risk of transmission from exposure to saliva is comparatively less than that of semen. But this doesn’t mean that oral sex with people infected with HIV is safe as there are numerous factors that might put you at risk. These include allergy, ejaculation in the mouth, immune suppression, sores and inflammation. Moreover, when the frequency of sex and the number of partners is high, the cumulative risk if much higher than indulging in a penetrative sex.
STD: Not many people are aware that oral sex can act as an as a mode of transmission of various oral, respiratory and genital pathogens. The common sexually transmitted infections apart from HIV include herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis, syphilis, genital warts (HPV) and intestinal parasites. If you suffer from any oral health problems like bleeding gums, cuts in your mouth, sores or broken skin, the chances of infection increases severely. The herpes simplex virus causes sores or lesions in mouth and genitals, which can lead to skin-to-skin contact leading to virus transmission during oral sex. In the case of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, hepatitis and syphilis, the virus or bacteria can be passed through blood, when you come in contact with body fluids during the act.

Cancer:  A study published online in ‘JAMA Oncology’ revealed that oral sex can increase your risk of head and neck cancer by seven times. It showed a strong correlation between HPV-16 (human pappiloma virus-16), a type of HPV virus that causes cervical cancer and other sexually transmitted infections, with increased risk of cancer development. So if you are infected with HPV, it is wise not to indulge in oral sex as you might be at the receiving end.