Kidney Failure In Hadejia: FUD Research Team Launches Sample Collection

By Rabiu Musa

HOTPEN – As part of their effort to find the root cause of the high rate of kidney diseases in the Hadejia valley which extends from Sakurai in Kano state through Hadejia in Jigawa state, Nguru, and Gashua in Yobe state, researchers from Federal University Dutse who earlier won N36 million TEtfund research grant has launched sample collection for the project in Hadejia town.

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

Dr. Auyo said as a son of the emirate who has a firsthand experience with people suffering frim kidney failure, he assembled a team of researchers and they wrote a proposal to Tetfund on the Chronic Kidney Diseases of Unknown Etiology in the Hadeijia Valley which they defended and got the approval to carry out 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 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.

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

The Principal Investigator said they will collect water, soil, fish, cereals, fruits and vegetables, milk, meat, herbs, grass, and tree shoot every 10 kilometers in Hadeijia, Sakurai, Nguru, and Gashua for the research adding that the research will take 20 months to be completed.

He said at the end of their findings, they will make recommendations to the government on what to do to tackle the disease.

Dr. Auyo said the team consists of ten Medical Consultants, Environmentalists, Molecular Biologists, and 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 concerned 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 affected communities of the presence of researchers in the emirate for the next 20 months so that every person in Hadeijia will give his full cooperation and.