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The Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, Abia State has successfully carried out its first kidney transplant on two patients on Friday about 10:00 am.

The kidney transplant which commenced on Thursday December 7, was conducted on the patients free of charge.

The operation, which lasted for more than ten hours from procurement of kidney from the donor to actual transplanting for the recipient, was carried out by a team of surgeons led by Dr Obi Ekwenna from University of Toledo Medical centre, USA and other surgeons from FMC Umuahia.

The federal government has taken pertinent steps including deployment of health officers, resources and strategies to all states of the country to investigate, test and treat tuberculosis patients for free.

According to the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTLCP), one of the major challenges hindering the eradication of tuberculosis in Nigeria is identified low case finding and contact tracing.

The Programme National Coordinator, Dr Adebola Lawanson, made the disclosure at the review meeting organised by Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme in Lagos.

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has declared that breathing particulate air pollution could damage brain tissue and undermine the cognitive development of babies.

The children's agency warned that about Seventeen million babies under the age of one are being exposed to toxic air, putting their delicate brains and cognitive development at risk.

While more than four million babies were at risk in East Asia and the Pacific, more than 12 million babies in South Asia were worst affected, as they live in areas with pollution six times higher than safe levels.

A study which tracked the oral health of 122, 000 Americans for up to 10 years has discovered that the presence of two types of bacteria linked to gum disease may heighten the risk of oesophageal cancer.

The findings from the study were published in a journal Cancer Research on December 1.

According to associate director for population science at NYU Langone Health in New York City, United States (U.S.) Jiyoung Ahn, the presence of one oral bacteria known as Tannerella forsythia, was linked to a 21 percent increase in the odds of developing esophageal tumors.

Diabetes and high BMI (a BMI over 25 kg/m2) were the cause of 5.6% of new cancer cases worldwide in 2012 – equivalent to 792600 cases, according to the first study to quantify the proportion of cancers attributable to diabetes and high BMI published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.

The first lady of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Buhari has condemned the scary figure of maternal and child mortality in the country.

Mrs Buhari, who was represented by former Plateau State Deputy Governor, Mrs Pauline Tallen made the disheartening expression on Tuesday, at a 3-day advocacy training workshop on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent, Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) in Minna.