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SANDF medical students lose appeal for reinstatement after Cuban ‘mutiny’

MBriefWSM - January 12, 2022 0

A group of 35 SA Military Health Service personnel who went absent without leave (AWOL) during their Cuban medical training as doctors have lost their Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) application for reinstatement, reports MedicalBrief. The SCA noted that “military discipline constitutes the difference between an army and a mob … conduct was a flagrant breach of duty”. The student soldiers appealed after the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) last year ruled that the SA National Defence Force was within...

UK slammed for ‘baffling’ response to SA expertise, as Omicron sweeps the world

MBriefWSM - January 13, 2022 0

Top medical scientists in Britain have again come under fire for ignoring the expertise of respected South African COVID-19 researchers after the Omicron variant was identified, as well as for exaggerating its danger. There have been diverging views on Omicron’s severity, but no doubting its transmissibility – half of Europe’s population is forecast to be infected within two months, while America has announced that it will attempt to live with COVID as a manageable disease. On Wednesday (January 12),...

IT MANAGER

Janice Brisbane - January 12, 2022 0

IT MANAGER (3-year fixed-term contract)

Head Office; Woodstock

Desmond Tutu Health Foundation

SENIOR RESEARCH PROJECT MANAGER

Janice Brisbane - January 12, 2022 0

SENIOR RESEARCH PROJECT MANAGER (5-year fixed-term contract)

East London, Eastern Cape Province

Desmond Tutu Health Foundation

ADOLESCENT SOCIO-BEHAVIOURAL PROGRAMMES LEAD

Janice Brisbane - January 12, 2022 0

ADOLESCENT SOCIO-BEHAVIOURAL PROGRAMMES LEAD (3-year fixed-term contract)

Head Office; Woodstock

Desmond Tutu Health Foundation

Omicron has higher asymptomatic carriage rate – Ubuntu study

Preliminary findings from SA clinical trials suggest the Omicron coronavirus variant has a much higher rate of asymptomatic carriage than earlier variants. The studies, one...

T-cells from common colds cross-protect against COVID – Imperial College London

High levels of T-cells from common cold coronaviruses can provide protection against COVID-19, an Imperial College London study has found, which could inform approaches...

Warning from WHO and EU regulator against repeat COVID boosters

European Union regulators have warned that frequent COVID-19 booster shots could adversely affect the immune system and might not be feasible. Repeat booster doses...

Severe outcomes rare after two COVID jabs – CDC and NIH

Two COVID-19 vaccine studies published this week respectively identify risk factors for severe outcomes among adults given two doses and describe cancer patients’ antibody...

Israeli health chief: Swab throat as well as nose to detect Omicron variant

People self-testing for COVID-19 should swab their throat as well as their nose when using rapid antigen kits, to increase the chances of detecting...

Guidelines on COVID-19 and indoor ventilation – CDC, WHO and NICD

International agencies have issued reminders to people to be aware of the risk of COVID-19 spreading in enclosed spaces. They have also published guidelines...

COVID vaccination not linked to premature birth or unusually small babies – CDC study

COVID vaccinations during pregnancy present no greater risk of premature birth or of unusually small babies than for vaccinated women, a US study has...

Microclot formation may have ‘long COVID’ implications – Stellenbosch

An overload of inflammatory molecules trapped inside microscopic blood clots could be behind long COVID, according to a Stellenbosch University study in Bioscience Reports. Prof...

NEWS UPDATE

Home testing is ‘single most powerful tool' in reducing COVID transmission’

Mass home use of self-administered lateral flow tests have been “the single most powerful tool in reducing transmission of the virus,” says Prof Irene...

University protests loom as students reject mandatory vaccines

Student protests could be on the card for Wits University, with the Student Representative Council (SRC) remaining adamant that the mandatory vaccine policy violates...

Africa CDC says stringent lockdown no longer a tool to contain COVID-19

Despite global opinion that COVID-19 could become endemic, particularly on this continent, Africa’s top public health official said last Thursday (6 January) that severe...

Trainee doctors in Eastern Cape petition for jobs

A number of junior doctors, who have completed their studies and community service in the Eastern Cape, have sent a petition to the SA...

UK vaccination committee says 4th booster not necessary

British government advisers have recommended against giving a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents and people over 80 because data show...

DoH warns of chaos if calls to end State of Disaster are heeded

With the end of South Africa’s current national State of Disaster due in a few days, a number of scientists and politicians have called...

Bed shortage has patients sleeping on floors at Northdale Hospital, PMB

Patients are being given medical treatment and having drips administered while on benches, in wheelchairs and on the floor at Maritzburg’s Northdale Hospital, which...

Patient, nurses, attacked at Mediclinic Brits by man wielding drip stand

A patient has been left traumatised, dependent on sleeping pills, after she and three nurses were attacked by another patient wielding his drip stand. Hazel...

NEWS RELEASE

Free State University: Survey highlights importance of vaccine literacy

An extensive online survey undertaken by the Centre for Health Systems Research & Development at the University of the Free State last September revealed...

MEDICO-LEGAL

SANDF medical students lose appeal for reinstatement after Cuban ‘mutiny’

A group of 35 SA Military Health Service personnel who went absent without leave (AWOL) during their Cuban medical training as doctors have lost...

B4SA prepares court papers for legal certainty on compulsory vaccines

Business for SA (B4SA), formed after the COVID-19 outbreak to assist the government with policy responses, said on Monday (10 January) it is pushing...

New vaping rules and taxes planned for South Africa

The National Treasury in South Africa has published a discussion paper outlining a proposal on the taxation of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems...

Colombian woman dies by euthanasia after historic legal battle

A 51-year-old Colombian woman died by euthanasia on Saturday (8 January) after a historic legal battle to exercise the right in this majority-Catholic country. The...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

CARDIOLOGY

AHA names 2021’s top heart disease and stroke research advances

A major funder of heart- and stroke-related research, the American Heart Association (AHA) compiles an annual recap of noteworthy scientific studies. Here is an...

CARDIOVASCULAR

Moderate alcohol use associated with lower CVD risk and all-cause mortality – ASPREE

Moderate drinking of alcohol is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and a lowering of mortality from all causes, when compared with...

ENDOCRINOLOGY

Lifestyle changes effective in high-risk pre-diabetes

Intensive lifestyle intervention with plenty of exercise helps people with pre-diabetes improve their blood glucose levels over a period of years and thus delay...

NEUROLOGY

Academic education may retard brain degeneration – Swiss study

A Swiss long-term study found that certain degenerative processes are reduced in the brains of academics, with their brains better able to compensate for...

ONCOLOGY

Inhaled CBD shrinks glioblastoma in animal model

Inhaled CBD (cannabidiol) shrinks the size of the highly aggressive, lethal brain tumour glioblastoma in an animal model by reducing the essential support of...

OPHTHALMOLOGY

Cataract removal may reduce dementia risk by 30% – Washington cohort study

Cataract removed in older people might provide them with more than just improved vision, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study, by...