Lupus
Omowunmi Alake and Oluwakemi Oladipo
Lagos, May 10, 2018 (NAN) Mrs Chisa Nosamiefam, Co-founder, Labalaba Foundation, an NGO, on Thursday called for aggressive awareness and advocacy to make a difference for the people affected by Lupus in Nigeria.
Lupus is a noncontiguous, noncancerous disease that can damage any part of the body.
Nosamiefam made the call at a health symposium organised by the foundation in collaboration with Rhematology and Dermatology Clinics of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
The symposium with the theme: Lupus Knows No Boundaries, Anyone, Any Organ, Anywhere, was organised to commemorate the World Lupus Day.
“Lupus also known as Systematic Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions worldwide.
“More than 90 per cent of people with Lupus are women and majority are diagnosed between the ages of 15 to 44 years, with women of African descent especially at risk.
“In lupus, the immune system which is designed to protect against infection, creates antibodies that attack the body’s own tissues and organs such as kidney, brain, heart, skin and joints,“ she said.
According to her, the prevalence of SLE was between 0.02 per cent and 0.15 percent, and incidence and prevalence is two to three times in Africans and Asians than in Caucasians.
“The epidemiology of lupus in Nigeria and Africa is largely undetermined and the perception persist that the incidence is very low.
“A recent study found that it has become one of the top causes of death in young women between the ages of 15 and 24 years.
“This can be attributed to lack of societal awareness, therefore the awareness efforts of Nigeria must become more aggressive, “ she said.
Also speaking, Prof. Femi Adelowo, a consultant rheumatologist, said that there was need for an aggressive awareness on lupus in the country.
Adewolo, who works with LUTH, Idi-Araba, said that most people were not aware of lupus which made them come late for diagnosis and treatment.
“Lupus affects female more than male and it affects women of child bearing age and children under 16 years old.
“Lupus is always from an interaction from the environment and virus which can not be prevented but managed,” he said.
Adewolo said that challenges of management of lupus included ignorance, very expensive cost of drugs, fake drugs of lupus and coping from one illness to another.
Dr Ayesha Akinkugbe, consultant dermatologist, said that hair loss was one of the clinical presentations of lupus.
Akinkugbe said that it affects up to 50 per cent of patients which caused significant emotional distress and anxiety.
“When hair loss is not addressed it can make women to lose confidence and lack quality of life.
“Early diagnosis is important by seeking medical intervention from a health expert.
“Lupus patients should always use sunscreen for protection from sunlight because lack of sunscreen causes more rashes and itches.(NAN)
AOI/OKG/WOJ
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Edited by Wale Ojetimi