A Nigerian, Fadeshola Adebayo has begun a 17-day marathon from Abuja to Lagos to create awareness about the Stephen Johnson Syndrome.
The Stephen Johnson Syndrome is a rare and severe reaction to drug use which affects less than 10% body space but is still deadly anyways.
The runner’s brother had died from the disease, a tragic loss which has now spurned him on to create awareness lest other people fall victim of it.
Adebayo will make stopovers in the course of his race sensitising people and creating awareness against the practice of self-medication, which is the principal cause of the disease.
At the event, a Senior Consultant Physician/Dermatologist at the National Hospital, Abuja, Olanrewaju Falodun explained that the disease is is a rare and unpredictable reaction, and is also a minor form of toxic epidermal necrolysis with less than 10 per cent body surface area involvement” which is a “rare but serious and potentially life-threatening contagious drug reaction.”
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole was present at the ceremonial commencement of the marathon on Friday, May 13 in Abuja.
The minister, speaking at a news conference in Abuja revealed that it has so far killed one person while the other person affected by the disease is responding to treatment in a National Hospital in Abuja.
*This story has been updated and corrected
Leave a reply