She said that the kidney, when damaged and diseased, causes
serious morbidity. It also contributed towards morbidity of
cardiovascular disease in over 12 million people worldwide. Dr Barnes told the GNA in an interview that chronic kidney diseases had become one of the silent killers in the country which is mostly caused by hypertension, diabetes and infectious diseases.
She said too many people ignored the functions of the kidneys
which is at the heart of the body and tasked to remove toxins and
excess water from the blood. Kidneys also help to control blood pressure, produces red blood cells and hormones and to keep the bones healthy.
Dr Barnes said early detection of the conditions which cause the
diseases would lead to early management of the condition. “Management of the disease in its chronic stage is expensive and
is currently not available under any health insurance scheme”, she
added. World figures indicate that more than 500 million persons,
approximately one out of every 10 adults, had some form of kidney
damage.
Dr Barnes therefore advised the general public to regularly go
for medical check-ups to enable health professionals to detect any
infections especially non-communicable diseases at an earlier stage. She said diseases were often reported to hospitals very late when
the patient was already in the end-stage of the disease which
according to her was expensive to treat.
Dr Barnes added that second Thursday of March in every year, has
been designated as World Kidney Day. It is an initiative of the International Society of Nephrology and International Federation of Kidney Foundations to inform and educate health policy-makers, patients and the general public that kidney disease was common, harmful and treatable.
This year the worldwide day will be marked under the theme:
“Diabetes, the Leading cause of Kidney Failure” and activities such as
free kidney screening, medical advice, seminars, public lectures and
press conferences would be organised.
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