Kidney Failure: FUD research team launches sample collection in Hadejia

A research team from Federal University Dutse, FUD has launched sample collection to mitigate the prevalence of kidney Failure in Hadejia town, Jigawa state and its neighbours.

Solacebase reports that the university had earlier won a N36 million research grant from TETFUND.

The Principal Investigator Dr Muhammad Isa Auyo, who led the team to the palace of the Emir of Hadejia, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Maje, said  the team were in Hadejia to flag off the sample collection for their research into the high rate of kidney failure in the area which is the highest in the world.

He said the exercise is part of the team’s effort to find the root cause of the high rate of kidney diseases in the Hadejia valley, which extends from Zakirai in Kano state through Hadejia in Jigawa state, Nguru and Gashua in Yobe state,

Dr. Auyo said as a son of the emirate, who has a first hand experience with people with  kidney failure, he assembled a team of researchers, who wrote a proposal to TETFUND  on Chronic Kidney Diseases of Unknown Etiology in the Hadejia Valley.

He added that they defended proposal and got the approval to carry out the research, adding that  N17 million has been released recently which helped the team to purchase all the necessary equipment for the research .

He told the Emir that he was personally committed to conduct the research because he has lost nine family members to kidney failure adding that his immediate younger sister just died from the disease last month.

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He said the team is suspecting the presence of environmental toxins in foods ànd the polymorphism of metallothionen gene as the cause of the disease.

The Principal Investigator said “we will collect water,soil, fish,cereals, fruits and vegetables, milk, meat,  herbs, grass, tree shoot in every 10 kilometres in Hadejia, Zakirai, Nguru ànd Gashua for the research adding that the research will take 20 months to complete.

“At the end of their findings, we will make recommendations to the government on what to do to tackle the disease,” he said.

Dr. Auyo further stated that the team consists of ten Medical Consultants, Environmentalists, Molecular Biologists, Technicians among others. He appealed to the Emirate to sensitize members of the public on the commencement of the sample collection.

The Galadiman Hadeijia, Alhaji Usman Abdulaziz thanked the team for their interest in finding the cause  of kidney diseases in the emirate adding that the emirate will give its full support to the project because they are concern about finding a lasting solution to the problem.

He said the emirate will immediately inform the Imams, District Heads, Ward Heads and Village Heads in the emirate of the presence of researchers in their community for the next 20 months so that every person in Hadejia will give their full cooperation.

He prayed to Allah to grant them success in their research and reward them for trying to find solution to a problem bedeviling the society.