Tit bits

UGANDA

Suspected Ugandan smallpox likely chickenpox                              

Suspected cases of the previously eradicated disease smallpox in eastern Uganda appear to be chickenpox and not the acute contagious disease, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.

"It appears that the supposed cases of smallpox are actually cases of chickenpox, and that they have occurred over the past three weeks — this is not an acute event," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in a statement. "WHO has communicated this latest information to its member states."

The WHO said earlier on Thursday it was investigating reports of suspected cases of smallpox in eastern Uganda.

Smallpox can sometimes be confused with chickenpox, a worldwide infection of children that is very rarely dangerous.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36031200/ns/health-infectious_diseases/

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GHANA

Smuggling hits Ghana cocoa as Nigeria's output rises

An increase in smuggling will shave about 1.4 per cent off Ghana's official cocoa purchases this season, the head of the country's marketing body, Cocobod, said on Wednesday.

The outlook in the world's second-biggest grower comes as official output figures in neighbouring No. 1 grower Cote d'Ivoire trickle along at near par with last season - the worst in at least five years.

"There is a lot of smuggling from Ghana to neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire and Togo," Cocobod Chief Executive Tony Fofie told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference.

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE62N0DM20100324

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NIGERIA

UN chief allays fear of acid rain in Nigeria

A United Nations space chief, Mr. Takao Doi, has allayed fears of acid rain accompanying the current harmattan haze accross the country.

Doi, a Chief Space Applications Officer at the UN Office for Outer Space, spoke at the Third Governing Board Meeting of the African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education held in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to him, the hazy weather is a natural occurrence resulting from climate change. The UN chief said this would not lead to acid rain, as had been speculated.

A text message circulating through mobile networks had warned that there could be acid rain in the country between March 20 and 28.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201003243422921

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