The Hyperbaric Medical Practitioners Society of Nigeria (HMPSN) said it plans to partner with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) to carry out a study on the impact of Covid-19 infection on the lungs of underwater divers.
Kayode Ogunleye, president of the group, who disclosed this recently when the Society visited the premier medical research agency in Lagos, said the visit was to seek collaborations on medical research as it bordered the health status of divers who survived Covid-19, since lungs, which is a critical organ for diving is also attacked when people contract the virus.
He said the group is also willing to push forward other studies that will show the usefulness of hyperbaric medicine in the treatment of ailments like stroke, bone injuries, sickle cell anemia among others.
Ogunleye said the Society wants the health sector to embrace hyperbaric medicine and see the possibility of establishing a hyperbaric centre like South Africa.
“One of the biggest challenge for divers is their fitness to work under challenging conditions. Many that undertake diving activities are expatriates, not even Nigerians. We want to draw the government’s attention to what is happening offshore so that we can begin to advance the industry in that area,” he said.
Ogunleye also commended the management of the Institute for the readiness shown in tackling Covid-19 in Nigeria.
Responding, Babatunde Lawal Salako, director-general of the Institute, commended the group for thinking of the drawback of Covid-19 infection on divers.
While pointing out that the major pathology of Covid-19 is in the lungs as many people die from breathing complications, he expressed the Institute’s willingness to partner with the Society even though the only challenge would be funding.
“It is instructive to note that no organisation has started thinking about what could be the drawback of Covid-19 infection on divers because it is lungs that divers use to survive inside water. As a research institute, we have not been researching on that but I can say that in the last one year, we have done quite a bit about Covid-19,” he said.
Continuing, he said, “It is an opportunity to measure oxygen saturation, functional capacity in people who have the infection and those who do not. We can ask them what they feel underwater and outside. That way, we would be able to come up with some sort of information that will guide the divers who have suffered Covid-19,” Salako said.
