COVID-19 fake news in circulation to be ignored

Coronavirus is emerging in more countries around the world and there's currently no known cure. Unfortunately that hasn't stopped a slew of health advice, ranging from useless but relatively harmless, to downright dangerous.

We've been looking at some of the most widespread claims being shared online, and what the science really says.

1. Garlic

Lots of posts that recommend eating garlic to prevent infection are being shared on Facebook.

The WHO (World Health Organization) says that while it is "a healthy food that may have some antimicrobial properties", there's no evidence that eating garlic can protect people from the new coronavirus.

In lots of cases, these kinds of remedies aren't harmful in themselves, as long as they aren't preventing you from following evidence-based medical advice. But they have the potential to be.

The South China Morning Post reported a story of a woman who had to receive hospital treatment for a severely inflamed throat after consuming 1.5kg of raw garlic.

We know, in general, that eating fruit and vegetables and drinking water can be good for staying healthy. However, there is no evidence specific foods will help fight this particular virus.

2. 'Miracle minerals'

YouTuber Jordan Sather, who has many thousands of followers across different platforms, has been claiming that a "miracle mineral supplement", called MMS, can "wipe out" coronavirus.

It contains chlorine dioxide - a bleaching agent.

Sather and others promoted the substance even before the coronavirus outbreak, and in January he tweeted that, "not only is chlorine dioxide (aka MMS) an effective cancer cell killer, it can wipe out coronavirus too".

3. Home-made hand sanitiser

There have been many reports of shortages of hand sanitiser gel, as washing your hands is one key way to prevent spread of the virus.

As reports of the shortages emerged in Italy, so did recipes for home-made gel on social media.

But these recipes, alleged dupes for one of the country's most popular brands, were for a disinfectant better suited for cleaning surfaces and, as scientists pointed out, not suitable for use on skin.

Alcohol-based hand gels usually also contain emollients, which make them gentler on skin, on top of their 60-70% alcohol content.

Professor Sally Bloomfield, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says she does not believe you could make an effective product for sanitising hands at home - even vodka only contains 40% alcohol.

For cleaning surfaces, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says most common household disinfectants should be effective.

4. Drinkable silver

The use of colloidal silver was promoted on US televangelist Jim Bakker's show. Colloidal silver is tiny particles of the metal suspended in liquid. A guest on the show claimed the solution kills some strains of coronavirus within 12 hours (while admitting it hadn't yet been tested on Covid-19).

The idea that it could be an effective treatment for coronavirus has been widely shared on Facebook, particularly by "medical freedom" groups which are deeply suspicious of mainstream medical advice.

Proponents of colloidal silver claim it can treat all kinds of health conditions, act as an antiseptic, and state it helps the immune system. There are some occasional uses of silver in healthcare, for example in bandages applied to wounds, but that doesn't mean it's effective to consume.

There's clear advice from the US health authorities that there's no evidence this type of silver solution is effective for any health condition. More importantly, it could cause serious side effects including kidney damage, seizures and argyria - a condition that makes your skin turn blue.

They say that, unlike iron or zinc, silver is not a metal that has any function in the human body.

Some of those promoting the substance for general health on social media have found their posts now generate a pop-up warning from Facebook's fact-checking service.

5. Drinking water every 15 minutes

One post, copied and pasted by multiple Facebook accounts, quotes a "Japanese doctor" who recommends drinking water every 15 minutes to flush out any virus that might have entered the mouth. A version in Arabic has been shared more than 250,000 times.

Professor Trudie Lang at the University of Oxford says there is "no biological mechanism" that would support the idea that you can just wash a respiratory virus down into your stomach and kill it.

Infections like coronaviruses enter the body via the respiratory tract when you breathe in. Some of them might go into your mouth, but even constantly drinking water isn't going to prevent you from catching the virus.

Nonetheless, drinking water and staying hydrated is generally good medical advice.

6. Heat and avoiding ice cream

There are lots of variations of the advice suggesting heat kills the virus, from recommending drinking hot water to taking hot baths, or using hairdryers.

One post, copied and pasted by dozens of social media users in different countries - and falsely attributed to Unicef - claims that drinking hot water and exposure to the sun will kill the virus, and says ice cream is to be avoided.

Charlotte Gornitzka, who works for Unicef on coronavirus misinformation, says: "A recent erroneous online message...purporting to be a Unicef communication appears to indicate that avoiding ice cream and other cold foods can help prevent the onset of the disease. This is, of course, wholly untrue."

We know the flu virus doesn't survive well outside the body during the summer, but we don't yet know how heat impacts the new coronavirus.

Trying to heat your body or expose yourself to the sun - presumably to make it inhospitable to the virus - is completely ineffective, according to Prof Bloomfield. Once the virus is in your body, there's no way of killing it - your body just has to fight it off.

Outside the body, "to actively kill the virus you need temperatures of around 60 degrees [Celsius]", says Professor Bloomfield - far hotter than any bath.

Washing bed linen or towels at 60C is a good idea, as this can kill any viruses in the fabric. But it's not a good option for washing your skin.

And having a hot bath or drinking hot liquids won't change your actual body temperature, which remains stable unless you are already ill.

Source -https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51735367

COVID-19 I was tested negative after taking carrots, vitamin c, black seed and honey by Seyi Makinde Oyo state governor

Oyo state governor made the speech after he was tested negative for the virus. He claims he overcome the virus by taking carrots, vitamin c, black seed mixed with honey to boost his immune system.

In boosting his immunity to overcome the virus, he said he consumed Vitamin C, carrots as well as blackseed oil mixed with honey.one tablespoon of blackseed oil mixed with honey morning and evening. 

COVID -19 could this be the coronavirus vaccine we have been waiting for?

Scientists discovered vaccine for  corona virus disease. "It can be mass-produced", researchers say

A fingertip-sized patch could be a potential vaccine for corona virus, researchers say.

Scientists suggest that when tested in mice, it produced antibodies specific to Covid-19 in quantities thought to be sufficient for neutralizing the virus. The vaccine is described in a paper published in EBioMedicine, which is published by The Lancet, and is thought to be the first to be reviewed by other scientists.

Researchers at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine say they were able to act quickly because they had laid the groundwork during earlier corona virus epidemics.

Co-senior author Andrea Gambotto, associate professor of surgery at the university, said: "We had previous experience on Sars-CoV in 2003 and Mers-CoV in 2014.

The lab had previously worked on Sars-CoV and Mers-CoV.

"These two viruses, which are closely related to Sars-CoV-2, teach us that a particular protein, called a spike protein, is important for inducing immunity against the virus. We knew exactly where to fight this new virus.

"That's why it's important to fund vaccine research. You never know where the next pandemic will come from."

The researchers say their vaccine candidate follows a more established approach compared to the experimental mRNA vaccine candidate that has entered clinical trials in Seattle.

They have called their drug PittCoVacc, short for Pittsburgh Corona virus Vaccine, and it uses lab-made pieces of viral protein to build immunity - the same way that current flu jabs work.

The researchers also used a novel approach to deliver the drug, called a microneedle array, to increase potency.

This array is a fingertip-sized patch of 400 tiny needles that delivers the spike protein pieces into the skin, where the immune reaction is strongest.

The patch is applied like a plaster and then the needles, which are made entirely of sugar and the protein pieces, simply dissolve into the skin.

The researchers have called their drug PittCoVacc, short for Pittsburgh Corona virus Vaccine.

"And it's actually pretty painless - it feels kind of like Velcro."

Researchers say their system can be mass produced, and once manufactured, the vaccine can sit at room temperature until it is needed, eliminating the need for refrigeration during transport or storage.

COVID-19 the virus called corona

January Timeline:

• On January 31, the first 2 novel coronavirus cases in the UK, [18] the first 2 cases in Russia, [20] and the first case in Sweden and in Spain were reported. Canada reported its 4th case.
• On Jan. 31, the United States
  • declared Coronavirus a Public Health Emergency
  • issued 14 days quarantine rules for US citizens entering the US from China (mandatory if entering from the Hubei province).
  • issued an order to deny entry to foreigners who have traveled to China within the past two weeks.
• On January 30, the novel coronavirus total case count surpassed that for SARS (which affected 8,096 people worldwide).
• On January 30, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a Global Public Health Emergency.
• On January 30 CDC confirmed the first US case of human to human transmission[17].
• Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States have reported cases in patients who didn't personally visit China, but contracted the virus from someone else who had visited Wuhan, China[15]. These cases of human to human transmission are the most worrisome, according to the WHO[16].
• Wuhan (the city where the virus originated) is the largest city in Central China, with a population of over 11 million people. The city, on January 23, shut down transport links. Following Wuhan lock down, the city of Huanggang was also placed in quarantine, and the city of Ezhou closed its train stations. This means than 18 million people have been placed in isolation. The World Health Organization (WHO) said cutting off a city as large as Wuhan is "unprecedented in public health history."[12] and praised China for its incredible commitment to isolate the virus and minimize the spread to other countries.

How dangerous is the virus?

There are three parameters to understand in order to assess the magnitude of the risk posed by this novel coronavirus:

• Transmission Rate (Ro) - number of newly infected people from a single case
• Case Fatality Rate (CFR) - percent of cases that result in death
• Determine whether asymptomatic transmission is possible

How contagious is the Wuhan Coronavirus? (Ro)

The attack rate or transmissibility (how rapidly the disease spreads) of a virus is indicated by its reproductive number (Ro, pronounced R-nought or r-zero), which represents the average number of people to which a single infected person will transmit the virus.

WHO's estimated (on Jan. 23) Ro to be between 1.4 and 2.5. [13]

Other studies have estimated a Ro between 3.6 and 4.0, and between 2.24 to 3.58. [23].

Preliminary studies had estimated Ro to be between 1.5 and 3.5. [5][6][7]

An outbreak with a reproductive number of below 1 will gradually disappear.

For comparison, the Ro for the common flu is 1.3 and for SARS it was 2.0.

Fatality Rate (case fatality ratio or CFR) of the Wuhan Coronavirus

See full details: Coronavirus Fatality Rate

The novel coronavirus' case fatality rate has been estimated at around 2%, in the WHO press conference held on January 29, 2020 [16] . However, it noted that, without knowing how many were infected, it was too early to be able to put a percentage on the mortality rate figure.

A prior estimate [9] had put that number at 3%.

Fatality rate can change as a virus can mutate, according to epidemiologists.

For comparison, the case fatality rate for SARS was 10%, and for MERS 34%.

Incubation Period (how long it takes for symptoms to appear)

See full details: COVID-19 Coronavirus Incubation Period

Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 (estimated ranges vary from 2-10 days, 2-14 days, and 10-14 days, see details), during which the virus is contagious but the patient does not display any symptom (asymptomatic transmission).

Age and conditions of Coronavirus cases

 See latest findings: Age, Sex, Demographics of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths

According to early estimates by China's National Health Commission (NHC), about 80% of those who died were over the age of 60 and 75% of them had pre-existing health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.[24]

According to the WHO Situation Report no. 7 issued on Jan. 27:

• The median age of cases detected outside of China is 45 years, ranging from 2 to 74 years.
• 71% of cases were male.

A study of 138 hospitalized patients with NCIP found that the median age was 56 years (interquartile range, 42-68; range, 22-92 years) and 75 (54.3%) were men.[25]

The WHO, in its Myth busters FAQs, addresses the question: "Does the new coronavirus affect older people, or are younger people also susceptible?" by answering that:

• People of all ages can be infected by the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
• Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.

Patient who died in the Philippines was a 44-year old male

The patient who died in the Philippines on February 2, in what was the first death occurring outside of China, was a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan who was admitted on Jan. 25 after experiencing fever, cough, and sore throat, before developing severe pneumonia. In the last few days, “the patient was stable and showed signs of improvement, however, the condition of the patient deteriorated within his last 24 hours resulting in his demise." according to the Philippine Department of Health.

Serious Cases of 30 year old patients in France

As of Jan. 29, according to French authorities, the conditions of the two earliest Paris cases had worsened and the patients were being treated in intensive care, according to French authorities. The patients have been described as a young couple aged 30 and 31 years old, both Chinese citizens from Wuhan who were asymptomatic when they arrived in Paris on January 18 [19].

Age and Sex of the first deaths as reported by the China National Health Commission (NHC)

The NHC reported the details of the first 17 deaths up to 24 pm on January 22, 2020. The deaths included 13 males and 4 females. The median age of the deaths was 75 (range 48-89) years.[21]

WHO Risk Assessment: Global Emergency

See full details: WHO coronavirus updates

On January 30, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a Global Public Health Emergency.

For more information from the WHO regarding novel coronavirus: WHO page on Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Comparisons:

• Every year an estimated 290,000 to 650,000 people die in the world due to complications from seasonal influenza (flu) viruses. This figure corresponds to 795 to 1,781 deaths per day due to the seasonal flu.
• SARS (November 2002 to July 2003): was a coronavirus that originated from Beijing, China, spread to 29 countries, and resulted in 8,096 people infected with 774 deaths (fatality rate of 9.6%). Considering that SARS ended up infecting 5,237 people in mainland China, Wuhan Coronavirus surpassed SARS on January 29, 2020, when Chinese officials confirmed 5,974 cases of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). One day later, on January 30, 2020 the novel coronavirus cases surpassed even the 8,096 cases worldwide which were the final SARS count in 2003.
• MERS (in 2012) killed 858 people out of the 2,494 infected (fatality rate of 34.4%).

COVID-19 the worst era in pictures

Death toll hit 329 and cases soar to 8,076.in Brazil excavator was seen digging grave at the country's largest grave site. 
And workers were spotted burying dead bodies everyday. 

Picture moment at Yinka Ayefele triplets dedication

It was a great and awesome day for MON  Yinka Ayefele and fans as the gospel tungba crooner dedicated his gift from God back to him.
The event was graced by important dignitaries check the pictures below to feed your eyes.

Countries without coronavirus

Despite the daily increase in the number of COVID-19 cases globally, about 18 countries have not confirmed any positive case.

Preventive and containment measures have been put in place to ensure the virus does not spread to them.

All countries in Europe, North America, and South America have reported at least a case of the virus while Africa, Asia, and Australia still have some virus-free countries.

Africa

Although countries in Africa started confirming cases in February, 49 out of the 54 countries in the continent have confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The remaining five countries, Comoros, Lesotho, Malawi, Sao Tome and Principe, and South Sudan remain virus-free.

Comoros shares a border with Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Seychelles, nations who have each recorded more than nine cases, yet has none.

In Comoros there is no testing available for COVID-19, according to the U.S. embassy in Madagascar and Comoros. Nonetheless, passengers who have “transited through China or Japan face entry travel restrictions or quarantine.”

Lesotho is enclaved within South Africa. South Africa has the highest number of cases on the continent, confirming 1,1380 cases, five deaths, and 50 recoveries.

On March 30, authorities implemented a lockdown and entry restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. The lockdown is expected to last for 21 days.

Citizens during this period are permitted to buy food and seek medical care.

Businesses except for supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, petrol stations, and health care centres have been shut.

Malawi, Sao Tome and Principe, and South Sudan all share borders with affected countries.

In Malawi (bordered by Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique) a state of disaster was declared by the government on March 31 due to the pandemic. Prior to the declaration, all schools and universities were closed since March 23. Public gatherings of more than 100 people have been banned.

The Malawian government also placed a ban on foreign nationals arriving from places seriously affected by Covid-19, except for SADC countries.

In Sao Tome, the government extended the state of emergency for another 15 days.

Sao Tome shares maritime borders with Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, most precautionary and containment measures in South Sudan are focused on creating awareness. Across the country a “campaign raising awareness on the coronavirus disease and how to best protect yourself and your family” is being rolled out.

There is a total of 6,383 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the African continent.

Asia

Asia which comprises of 48 countries has four COVID-19 free countries: North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Yemen.

These countries are all bordered by countries which have confirmed a case of the virus.

In Tajikistan, travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine has been implemented by the government.

Turkmenistan, an isolated Asian country with one of the most repressive governments, has, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) who published a rebuke for the President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhame, allegedly placed a ban on the word ‘coronavirus’.

Turkmenistan is surrounded by Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, countries which all have numerous Covid-19 cases.

Despite the global ceasefire call by the UN Chief, Antonio Gueterres, last week due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, fighting continues in Yemen.

A group, Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen, said in a statement that “prisoners and detainees in Yemen are particularly vulnerable – and at high risk of death if the novel coronavirus emerges in overcrowded prisons and other detention facilities.”

They further said that “the health system in Yemen is on the brink of collapse and that prisoners must cope with a lack of adequate food and minimum standards of hygiene and contravene standards set by international law.”

Australia

In Australia, Solomon Islands, Palau, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Federated State of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Tonga, and Marshal Islands have not confirmed a case of the virus.

Many of the countries within the continent are ill-equipped, according to The Guardian, as they are reliant on sending samples overseas.

Solomon Islands and Kiribati denied entry to citizens coming from high-risk countries. Micronesia has placed an entry ban on anyone who has been in any country with a confirmed case of coronavirus. Marshall Islands have shut down their borders.

Resorts in the continent are “emptied of tourists and some countries have found their spacious and secluded grounds useful quarantine sites.”

Countries on the Australian continent have nearly 6000 cases.

All figures in the report are gotten from Worldometer.

Causes of sweat and body Odour

Sweating is the secretion of fluids by sweat glands onto the surface of the skin, mainly for the purpose of maintaining body temperature within an ideal range. This happens when the body temperature rises due to physical exertion or being in hot surroundings, the evaporation of sweat from the skin produces a cooling effect.

Sweat doesn’t smell, however, one can develop an odour when the acids in the sweat are being broken down by skin bacteria. The waste products from this breakdown process produce an offensive smell referred to as BODY ODOUR.

WHEN CAN ONE LIKELY HAVE BODY ODOUR?
Once a person reaches puberty, body odour begins to occur as this is when the apocrine glands, which are located in the armpits, breasts, and genital-anal area become developed. Males are more likely to have body odour than females because they sweat more than females.

WHO’S IS AT RISK OF HAVING BODY ODOUR

Below are categories of people at higher risk of having body odour;

1. Obese People

2. Persons who regularly eat spicy food

3. Individuals with certain medical conditions such as diabetes, hyperhidrosis (People who sweat too much), etc are more susceptible to having body odour.

Body odour can have a pleasant and specific smell to the individual and can be used to identify people, especially by dogs and other animals. Each person’s unique body odour can be influenced by diet, gender, health, and medication.

CAUSES OF BODY ODOUR

Body odour is caused by bacteria breaking down sweat and is largely linked to the apocrine glands. These glands are found in the breasts, genital area, eyelids, armpits, and ear. In the breasts, they secrete fat droplets into breast milk. In the ear, they help form earwax. Apocrine glands in the skin and the eyelids are sweat glands.

The apocrine glands are mainly responsible for body odour because the sweat they produce is high in protein, which bacteria can break down easily.

Also, medical conditions such as Overweight, diabetes, gout, tumour, menopause, frostbite, overactive thyroid, pituitary gland disorders, head injury, excessive alcohol consumption, infectious diseases, etc are also the leading causes of body odour

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF BODY ODOUR

If you have an offensive body odour and you are concerned about you could see your doctor who may in some cases prescribe aluminium chloride.

However, to curtail body odour, one is advised to;

1. Use of Antiperspirants which contains aluminium-based compounds that temporarily block sweat pores, thereby reducing the amount of perspiration that reaches your skin.

2. Use of Deodorants contain perfume fragrances intended to mask odour. Deodorants can eliminate odour but not perspiration and are usually alcohol-based and can turn your skin acidic making it less attractive to bacteria.

3. Gradual shift in lifestyle which includes;

a. Regular bathe daily with an antibacterial soap.

b. Choose clothing to suit your activity.

c. Adopt relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation or biofeedback which can help teach you to control the stress that triggers perspiration.

d. Change your diet by reducing caffeinated beverages and spicy or strong-smelling foods which may make you sweat more or have stronger body odour than usual.