Health

RFK JNR SAYS DOCTOR TOLD HIM A WORM ATE PART OF HIS BRAIN

Published

1 year ago

May 8, 2024

Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr believed he may have been attacked by a worm that ate part of his brain and then died inside his head, US media reported on Wednesday.

Kennedy, 70, made the claim in a 2012 deposition as part of his divorce from his second wife, according to the New York Times, which said the scion of the storied political clan reported severe memory loss and mental fog.

A New York surgeon who reviewed his brain scans told Kennedy his health issues could have been “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” the White House hopeful reportedly told attorneys.

Kennedy — a nephew of former president John F. Kennedy and known informally as RFK Jr — says he recovered from the 2010 incident and that he did not require treatment for the infection, according to the Times.

Around the same time, Kennedy — who has described a variety of ailments over the years, including an irregular heartbeat — said he was suffering from mercury poisoning, which can lead to neurological issues.

AFP has not independently reviewed the deposition but a spokesperson for Kennedy’s campaign said he had “traveled extensively in Africa, South America and Asia” as an environmental advocate and contracted a parasite during one of those trips.

The Times, citing speculation from doctors who had not examined Kennedy, reported that he might have developed a neurological condition caused by a pork tapeworm larva that would likely have survived on nutrients from the body rather than eating his brain.

Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic, has presented himself on the campaign trail as more vibrant and youthful than the frontrunners — 81-year-old President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Donald Trump, 77.

Health and wellbeing are at the heart of his campaign and he is often pictured on social media taking part in outdoor activities and watersports — sometimes shirtless.

The environmental lawyer is boasting double-digit support ahead of November’s election, and polling has gone back and forth on whether he is hurting Biden or Trump more.

Health

Nigerian govt supplies two million polio vaccines to Kebbi

Published

3 days ago

June 14, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

The Nigerian government has delivered two million doses of polio vaccines to Kebbi State as part of a nationwide immunisation campaign targeting children under the age of five.

The vaccine supply, facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Health through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, is part of efforts to halt the circulation of polio variants and strengthen immunity among vulnerable children.

Yusuf Umar Sauwa, spokesperson for the Kebbi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, confirmed the development, describing the vaccines as potent booster doses capable of interrupting transmission.

“These vaccines will strengthen immunity among children and ensure the virus does not resurface,” he said.

Sauwa added that Kebbi currently has zero reported cases of polio, attributing this to the state’s strong surveillance and routine immunisation systems.

To address issues of non-compliance and vaccine rejection, particularly in areas such as Jega, Koko, and Birnin Kebbi, religious and traditional leaders have been actively engaged to help dispel misinformation and promote vaccine acceptance.

Health

Adamawa commences polio vaccination targeting 1.3m children

Published

3 days ago

June 14, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Adamawa State on Saturday commenced the June 2025 oral polio vaccination targeting over 1.3 million children aged 0–59 months.

The state government explained at a press briefing, forming part of the four-day vaccination exercise lasting June 14 to June 17, that it had received a total of 1,572,300 doses of the vaccines for the targeted 1,379,814 children across the 21 LGAs of the state.

The State Director of Disease Control and Immunization, Dr. James Vasumu, who gave the figures, said necessary sensitization had been carried out for all parents across the 226 wards of the state to present their under-five children for the vital oral polio vaccination.

The Executive Chairman of the Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Suleiman Bashir, appealed for media coverage of the oral polio vaccination campaign that will achieve 100 percent acceptance by the people.

Making the point that some families in certain places still view the oral vaccines with skepticism, Bashir told the newsmen at the briefing, “We need behavioural change among households. We need them to believe that the vaccine is safe and to access this vaccination which government spends much money to make available for free.”

The Oral Polio Vaccination Campaign is a joint venture by the Federal Government, the various state governments, as well as NGOs that include UNICEF, WHO, and other partners.

A national official from the Emergency Operation Centre, Professor Georgina Odaibo, who bears the responsibility of improving information sharing regarding the polio vaccination campaign, said she has enough expertise as a virologist to attest to the safety of the polio vaccine.

She explained that though Nigeria is free of wild polio, the vaccination is necessary to reinforce the country’s status and ensure that no Nigerian falls victim should any infected foreigner get into the country.

Health

Sugary drinks, refined carbohydrates, processed meats, major causes of cancer – Varsity Don

Published

1 week ago

June 7, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

A professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Ibadan, Victor Ifeolu Akinmoladun has declared that pro-inflammatory diets such as sugary drinks, refined carbohydrates, processed meats, fried foods including persistent inflammation are the major causes of oral cancer.

Akinmoladun made the assertion while delivering the 582nd inaugural lecture of the University of Ibadan.

The don while delivering the lecture titled, “The Scalpel and the Laboratory: Collaboration Against the Lawless”, maintained that cancer is a major societal, public health, and socioeconomic problem in the 21st century.

He added that cancer causes 3 in 10 global premature deaths from non-communicable diseases, NCDs, in those aged 30 to 69 years.

Akinmoladun while addressing the gathering said cancer is responsible for almost one in six of all deaths and one in four deaths from NCDs worldwide, adding that head and neck cancer (HNC) is ranked at between 6th to 10th most common cancers in the world.

He described the relationship between inflammation and cancer as an agreement between two individuals or groups of persons to achieve an unlawful or illegal and harmful goal, often with fatal consequences.

The don affirmed that higher vegetable and fruit consumption have protective effects on cancers of the stomach, oesophagus, lung, oral cavity, pharynx, and colon.

He maintained that micronutrients such as zinc, copper and selenium along with antioxidants as well as vitamins are required for the production of various enzymes that help prevent DNS damage caused by free radicals and also maintain the integrity of mucosal surfaces.

He added that cancer is not exactly the direct consequence of a failed immune system or a compromised system but they can significantly contribute to cancer development, while the understanding of the compromises forms the basis for immune therapy against cancers.

He also recommended supplements rich in antioxidants and single-carbon metabolism, vitamins, in addition to lifestyle changes, particularly the avoidance of alcohol and tobacco use.

He said that “Many cancers are known to be induced by chronic inflammation, while many more are sustained by it.

“Soluble and cellular inflammatory mediators such as cytokines are responsible for tumour initiation and associated with progression in some cancer cases including head and neck cancers.

“Figures on the burden of the disease are difficult to obtain in Nigeria, data on survival in oral cancer is also hardly available’.