If there is one health condition that has defied correct diagnosis for decades in Nigeria, it is endometriosis, as not only do family and friends wonder why a woman would go through intense pain during menstrual periods, even most doctors still consider it exaggerated pain or outrightly refer to it as a different condition.
But they are all wrong. Aina is suffering from what the Founder, Endometriosis Support Group of Nigeria , Dr. Abayomi Ajayi has described as Endometriosis; a painful condition in which tissues that normally line the womb grows outside of it. “I am usually a happy person, but it is hard to be happy when you are in so much pain, and that time of the pain is the worst part of my life,” she said.
Worse still, only few Nigerians, including health experts really know what this women go through as the condition is still shrouded in mystery. “Sometimes too, an Endometriosis patient could bleed while coughing; giving an impression it is tuberculosis. The diagnosis would however be easily done if this presentation occur around the monthly cycle of the patient,” Ajayi said.
He said: “From the wish to have a baby to the diagnosis of reproductive problems, the experience of infertility on its own can cause anger, confusion, depression, a sense of helplessness, and frustration. Having to cope with endometriosis on top of all this is challenging. He said while Endometriosis and infertility are serious and uncomfortable conditions, the good news is that help is available.
“It is natural to wonder if you have any chance of conceiving. If you have been diagnosed with Endometriosis before you even thought about getting pregnant, you may wonder if it’s worth trying to get pregnant on your own before seeking fertility treatment. The answer is yes. You can conceive with endometriosis. It’s not a guarantee, but it is possible,” he added.
However, animal reservoir, or host, of Lassa virus is a rodent of the genus Mastomys known as the ‘multimammate rat’. Mastomys rats infected with the virus do not become ill, but they shed the virus in their urine and faeces. Because the clinical course of the disease is so variable, its detection in affected patients has been difficult.Lassa fever from historic facts is as old as Nigeria’s independence. The first case was reported in the Lassa village, Borno State, Nigeria. Over the years there has been mortality which became louder as the year unfolds.