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Eat more fish?
do. It was agreed that three be chosen initially for would : hospitals up-grading, improvement of administration, essential repairs, and staff training to charge. International reaction has beencare better for the new equipment, which low-key. The British Government’s Over- would come when the ODA grant was seas Development Administration (ODA) given. If assistance to the first three hospihas frozen all new aid projects, pending atals was successful, help for others would review of the situation after Aug 27. This isfollow. But plans are now on ice. Decisions particularly tragic since most of the projectsare being taken at a level higher than in the pipeline are health related. Dr Anne: Baroness Chalker, the minister for overseas Bamisaiye is the field-officer for ODA,development. The doctors in charge of resident in Nigeria; her job is threatened if =Benue have expressed great disappointthere is no democratically acceptable out- ment that their hopes may be dashed. come. Since she was personal assistant to : The irony is that State and Local Prof Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, FederalGovernment Authority elections have alMinister of Health until the end of 1992,ready taken place and have led to peaceful no-one could be better qualified to ensuretransition from military to civilian rule. that the projects assisted are truly designedWhen the Presidental election took place, to help Nigeria help itself. :over 100 international observers declared it One project in Benue State required thewas the most fair and free of any ever held in State Ministry of Health to study all theNigeria. It seems that Babangida and his district hospitals during 1993, and to plan: officers have refused at the last fence. essential improvements, which include : Ninety million Nigerians will not be decentralisation of much of the administra- pleased. tion to district level. Inspection of the hospitals showed that they were in a deplorable condition. Staff were there-but with : C A Pearson
Nullified elections put aid to General Ibrahim Babangida step down and hand over power to a civilian administration on Aug 27. The all-state presidential elections took place on June 12-both candidates had been deemed suitable by the General. The results were made known at state level, and there is no doubt that Chief Moshood Abiola won. However, for some as yet unexplained reason, when the results were sent to the federal capital, Abuja, Babangida refused to accept them. The election was nullified, and an interim administration has been promised. During his speech to the National Assembly on Aug 18, Babangida gave no detail as to who would be on the administration. He talked: of sacrificing himself and of offering his resignation, but inferred that his resignation might not be accepted. : Meanwhile, Dr Beko-Ransome-Kuti (human rights activist, leader of the Campaign for Democracy, and general practitioner) is still under detention, without President
promised
to
Nigeria on
hold
: nothing
to
(o-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (equivalent eating two mackerel a day) only in people with untreated hypertension. Eating fish is unlikely to be solely responsible for In the 1980s, observers noting that Eskimos the Eskimos against heart protecting ate a lot of fish and had little heart disease disease. Because of opposition from some members, suggested fish-oil supplements for other the governing council of the Federation of diets. As trials yielded equivocal results John Bignall Swiss Physicians (FMH) has been forced to and indicated unpleasant side-effects think again regarding its decision, voted (belching, bad taste, and diarrhoea), en1 Appel LJ, Miller ER, Siedler AJ, Whelton last December, to introduce obligatory thusiasm waned. ’ : PK. Does supplementation of diet with "fish up-date courses as from next year. A recent meta-analysis1 of 17 controlled oil" reduce blood pressure? A meta-analysis To retain the right of using the presticlinical trials showed a short-term reducof controlled clinical trials. Arch Intern Med gious FMH designation in listing their tion in blood pressure with high doses of 1993; 153: 1429-38. qualifications, members were being required to give up to 80 hours of their time The immunodiffusion test used indicated annually, including 30 hours of lectures, to birdie their medical : that 50 % or more of faecal samples from all up-date knowledge. Some sections of the Federation, especisources were positive for C psittaci. This ally Fribourg, took this as a reflection on high rate of positivity led to the specificity A tale that reveals much about perception of the test being questioned by Central both their professional competence and : of risk, and the benefit of hindsight, comes Veterinary Laboratory of the Ministry of independence. According to the Federation’s lawyer, : from Rotherham, in Yorkshire, UK.1 In: Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. "The principle as such remains accepted. the summer of 1990, a gardener employed Despite these doubts about the test But the modalities of its application have by the local authority (council) developed a results and the fact that no sick birds were found in the aviary, the local authority now got to be reconsidered, entailing a severe pneumonia that was diagnosed as on expert advice, and in response to a for This infectious disease of birds acted of or so." The need psittacosis. delay year anxieties about public health, and underis caused and can courses was be by Chlamydia psittaci, statutory up-dating lined, he said, by the fact that if it could be transmitted to human beings. Concern that destroyed more than 300 birds in two proved in court that a doctor had failed to the gardener had caught psittacosis from a council and two school aviaries. Meanact in conformity with what should have council-run aviary near which he had while, Sheffield city council, alarmed by the high C psittaci positivity in the aviaries been professional knowledge, then a judge worked briefly led to an outcry in the local would doubtless rule in favour of the of nearby Rotherham, sent faecal samples media and closure of the aviary. Casefrom its largest public aviary to the same : finding identified two other patients who plaintiff. "While constant up-dating is certainly had been diagnosed as having psittacosis private laboratory as Rotherham. Regular essential, the procedure envisaged by within a few months of the first case; testing for 11months gave a constant high the FMH is too nebulous", said one however, the most likely source of these rate of positivity, leading to a decision to : GP. patients’ infections was the birds that they destroy the Sheffield birds. However, the death sentence was reprieved when polykept. A private laboratory was asked to test for C psittaci in faecal specimens from the merase chain reaction testing of the ShefAlan McGregor suspect aviary birds and from feral pigeons. field samples by the Central Veterinary
Swiss doctors oppose up-date sessions
Eat
more
to
Bye-bye
546
fish?
Nullified elections put aid to General Ibrahim Babangida step down and hand over power to a civilian administration on Aug 27. The all-state presidential elections took place on June 12-both candidates had been deemed suitable by the General. The results were made known at state level, and there is no doubt that Chief Moshood Abiola won. However, for some as yet unexplained reason, when the results were sent to the federal capital, Abuja, Babangida refused to accept them. The election was nullified, and an interim administration has been promised. During his speech to the National Assembly on Aug 18, Babangida gave no detail as to who would be on the administration. He talked: of sacrificing himself and of offering his resignation, but inferred that his resignation might not be accepted. : Meanwhile, Dr Beko-Ransome-Kuti (human rights activist, leader of the Campaign for Democracy, and general practitioner) is still under detention, without President
promised
to
Nigeria on
hold
: nothing
to
(o-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (equivalent eating two mackerel a day) only in people with untreated hypertension. Eating fish is unlikely to be solely responsible for In the 1980s, observers noting that Eskimos the Eskimos against heart protecting ate a lot of fish and had little heart disease disease. Because of opposition from some members, suggested fish-oil supplements for other the governing council of the Federation of diets. As trials yielded equivocal results John Bignall Swiss Physicians (FMH) has been forced to and indicated unpleasant side-effects think again regarding its decision, voted (belching, bad taste, and diarrhoea), en1 Appel LJ, Miller ER, Siedler AJ, Whelton last December, to introduce obligatory thusiasm waned. ’ : PK. Does supplementation of diet with "fish up-date courses as from next year. A recent meta-analysis1 of 17 controlled oil" reduce blood pressure? A meta-analysis To retain the right of using the presticlinical trials showed a short-term reducof controlled clinical trials. Arch Intern Med gious FMH designation in listing their tion in blood pressure with high doses of 1993; 153: 1429-38. qualifications, members were being required to give up to 80 hours of their time The immunodiffusion test used indicated annually, including 30 hours of lectures, to birdie their medical : that 50 % or more of faecal samples from all up-date knowledge. Some sections of the Federation, especisources were positive for C psittaci. This ally Fribourg, took this as a reflection on high rate of positivity led to the specificity A tale that reveals much about perception of the test being questioned by Central both their professional competence and : of risk, and the benefit of hindsight, comes Veterinary Laboratory of the Ministry of independence. According to the Federation’s lawyer, : from Rotherham, in Yorkshire, UK.1 In: Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. "The principle as such remains accepted. the summer of 1990, a gardener employed Despite these doubts about the test But the modalities of its application have by the local authority (council) developed a results and the fact that no sick birds were found in the aviary, the local authority now got to be reconsidered, entailing a severe pneumonia that was diagnosed as on expert advice, and in response to a for This infectious disease of birds acted of or so." The need psittacosis. delay year anxieties about public health, and underis caused and can courses was be by Chlamydia psittaci, statutory up-dating lined, he said, by the fact that if it could be transmitted to human beings. Concern that destroyed more than 300 birds in two proved in court that a doctor had failed to the gardener had caught psittacosis from a council and two school aviaries. Meanact in conformity with what should have council-run aviary near which he had while, Sheffield city council, alarmed by the high C psittaci positivity in the aviaries been professional knowledge, then a judge worked briefly led to an outcry in the local would doubtless rule in favour of the of nearby Rotherham, sent faecal samples media and closure of the aviary. Casefrom its largest public aviary to the same : finding identified two other patients who plaintiff. "While constant up-dating is certainly had been diagnosed as having psittacosis private laboratory as Rotherham. Regular essential, the procedure envisaged by within a few months of the first case; testing for 11months gave a constant high the FMH is too nebulous", said one however, the most likely source of these rate of positivity, leading to a decision to : GP. patients’ infections was the birds that they destroy the Sheffield birds. However, the death sentence was reprieved when polykept. A private laboratory was asked to test for C psittaci in faecal specimens from the merase chain reaction testing of the ShefAlan McGregor suspect aviary birds and from feral pigeons. field samples by the Central Veterinary
Swiss doctors oppose up-date sessions
Eat
more
to
Bye-bye
546
fish?