Researchers at the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, have scaled up efforts at finding the cause of the high rate of kidney disease at the Hadejia River Valley.
Their team has launched a sample collection for the research, for which it has already received a N36 million TEtfund research grant.
The Principal Investigating officer in the research team, Dr.Muhammad Isa Auyo, who led the team to a courtesy call on the Emir if Hadejia, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Maje, said expressed the team’s determination to discover the causes of the high rate of kidney failure in.the region.
Dr. Auyo told the Emir that he was personally committed to the success of the reseach because he had lost nine family members to the disease, adding that his immediate younger sister died from the disease last month.
He said the team and as suspecting the presence of environmental toxins in foods ànd the polymorphism of metallothionen gene as the cause of the disease.
Dr. Auyo said the researchers would collect water, soil, fish, cereals, fruits and vegetables, milk, meat, herbs, grass, tree shoot in every 10 kilometres in Hadeijia, zakirai, Nguru ànd Gashua for the research.
He said the research would last 20 months, after which the team would forward its findings and recommendations to the government on what to do to tackle the disease.
Dr. Auyo said the team consist of ten Medical Connsultants, Environmentalists, Molecular Biologists, Technicians among others.
He appealed to the Emirate Council to sensitize members of the public on the commencement of the sample collection.
The Galadima of Hadeijia, Alhaji Usman Abdulaziz, who received the research team in the palace, thanked them for their interest in finding the causes of kidney diseases in the emirate, assuring that the emirate would give its full support to the project to facilitate finding lasting solutions to the disease.
The Galadima said the emirate would immediately inform the Juma,at Mosques Imams, and all District, Ward and Village Heads in the emirate of the presence of researchers in the emirate for the next 20 months so that every person in Hadeijia would 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.
