Juta MedicalBrief

A major clinical trial launched recently will investigate whether a new nutritional supplement could be a potential replacement for the iron and folic acid (IFA) tablets currently provided to pregnant South African women through the public healthcare system, reports Joburg Gazette. The MMS SA 2025 Clinical Trial was officially launched at the Wits RHI Shandukani Clinical Research Site in Johannesburg, in which researchers will examine the effectiveness of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS), a single tablet containing a blend of 15 essential vitamins and minerals. The findings are expected to provide valuable evidence that could guide future maternal nutrition policies and...

Two men linked to the murder of Dr Michael Isabelle during a robbery at his Dobsonville, Soweto, general practice in 2024 have been sentenced to lengthy terms by the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg), reports TimesLIVE. Gordon Matwetwe Muningi, (52), and Rufus Tebogo Thutloa (47) were convicted of the murder, as well as of robbery with aggravating circumstances, unlawful possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition; and defeating or obstructing the administration of justice. The sentences ranged from life imprisonment to 20 years, 15 years and two years for the various charges. An accomplice, Thamsanqa Mathebula, was shot and killed during the robbery. The...

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held but discredited theory that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits, reports The Associated Press. The order advocates separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots and the administering of all childhood immunisations at separate appointments. Notably, the MMR is not available as three separate shots in the United States, but he wants the Health Department to submit a plan to separate them, and to improve its research on vaccines – already extensively studied. Public health experts have raised concerns that...

Netcare is seeking regulatory approval for a scientific algorithm that predicts early warning signs of life-threatening deterioration in patients after a successful clinical study in Netcare ICU and high care units. The artificial neural network applies a machine learning algorithm to analyse real-time patient data, including heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate, which are continuously monitored via Netcare’s digital health platform, to predict clinical risk before it becomes otherwise detectable. Now, the hospital group and Telehealth Competence Centre (TCC) Clinical Solutions GmbH, a German-based clinical AI manufacturer, said they are taking the next step in their partnership as...

North West patients needing dental care are fed up with constant treatment delays at some clinics, saying first they had to wait months because of anaesthetic injection shortages, and now water problems are holding up procedures, reports Health-e News. The Itsoseng Community Health Centre in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality has been plagued with problems for months, according to locals. When Tefo Mmokwa (42) went to the centre during the Easter holidays with a painful tooth, he hoped to have it extracted, but was turned away because there was no water or any local anaesthetising injections available. He said he has been...

A pioneering procedure carried out by a South African doctor working in Texas could eventually be performed in South Africa, according to the surgeon who was on a visit to Cape Town last week, reports EWN. Michael Belfort, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Texas Children’s Hospital, headed up the team that operated on 26-week old baby Theo while he was still in the womb, and who had gastroschisis – a birth defect in which the intestines grow outside the body. Belfort told CapeTalk the surgery was originally developed to treat spina bifida. He said after almost 10 years of treating...

In June, France became the first country in the European Union to start reimbursing the costs of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for people without diabetes but diagnosed with obesity, and now Germany, which has been dragging its heels on the issue, looks as though it might follow suit, reports Euractiv. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist, estimating the cost of this policy at €100m a year, had said: “These are the people who would normally be eligible for surgery to correct their obesity.” Germany, usually rather generous when it comes to drug reimbursement, has not been ready to pay, maintaining that the...

Moderna may be publicly pivoting toward its cancer therapies, but it’s still notching up vaccine approvals, with the Food & Drug Administration last week approving its mFlusiva as a new flu vaccine option, reports Endpoints News. The shot received standard approval for adults aged 50 to 64 and accelerated approval for over-65s. The company is planning to run a post-marketing study to further vet the efficacy in older adults. CEO Stéphane Bancel said that the latest approval, Moderna’s fourth vaccine in the US, “demonstrates the continued strength and versatility of our mRNA platform”. It’s also an indication of how much has changed...

The final draft of the Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) was sent to United Nations members last week, but, writes Kerry Cullinan for Health Policy Watch, it has several weaknesses in its failure to address major problems linked to the world’s pandemic preparedness. Armenia and Rwanda, the co-facilitators of the declaration negotiations, put the “final” text of the declaration for the High-Level Meeting (HLM) on PPPR in September under the silence procedure on 28 July. The silence procedure means member states have a certain period during which to object – or break the silence – otherwise the...

A tiny federal agency in the US, tasked with protecting the public from injuries caused by lawnmowers and items like household appliances, is demanding that some of the nation’s biggest health systems turn over detailed, personally identifiable medical records of all patients who seek help at their emergency rooms, reports KFF Health News. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), responsible for tracking and issuing recalls of dangerous products sold in the US, began discreetly pressuring hospital executives this year to share personally identifiable health data with a private contractor. But hospital lawyers and other industry experts have questioned the agency’s authority...

After a speedy six-month – and R67m – restoration, Paarl Hospital’s Outpatient Department has officially reopened after a devastating fire had caused extensive damage to the facility in January this year, reports Cape Argus. The blaze had forced the evacuation of nearly 800 patients, staff and visitors, and resulted in significant structural damage to the department, while smoke damage affected other parts of the hospital, extending as far as the third floor. Despite the scale of the emergency, the hospital remained operational, with service disruptions primarily limited to outpatient care, and with affected departments being temporarily relocated. Although the restoration project was expected to take...

Elderly patients are having to wait in long queues and endure extended waiting times at False Bay Hospital’s outpatients department, with the local Pensioners Forum Facebook group calling for fast-tracking of appointments for over-80s, reports the Cape Argus. The concerns relate to the length of time some older patients are reportedly having to wait before seeing a doctor in the Western Cape hospital, and whether greater consideration should be given to those who are over 80, or frail, or have difficulty sitting for extended periods. The post reported that patients in their 80s and older often had to wait for several...

Police are investigating the death of a 19-year-old first-year nursing student at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Nursing College in Soweto, whose body was found last week, reports TimesLIVE. Spokesman for the Gauteng Department of Health Steve Mabona said the student was found in her resident room on the evening of 4 August, after a concerned friend requested assistance to check on her.   TimesLIVE article – Gauteng nursing student found dead in residence room (Restricted access)   See more from MedicalBrief archives:   High suicide intention rate among students – SA study   KZN Health ‘saddened’ by doctor’s and nurse’s deaths   Bodies of med students drowned in Cuba brought to...

A doctor, suspended by the Health Professionals Council of SA, has appeared in the Senwabarwana Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud after an inspection of his "surgery" by SAPS and traditional healers found several youngsters in severe pain after being circumcised, and others still awaiting their procedures. Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the room was unhygienic, without any running water, with the walls blackened by smoke from an indoor fire. The “doctor” was also charged with contravening the Health Professions Act and granted R2 000 bail. He is expected back in court on 15 September while investigations continue. The HPCSA said the...

A palliative care nurse who has already been imprisoned for life after murdering 10 elderly patients “to reduce his workload on night shifts” is being investigated for more than 100 other cases, reports Daily Mail. Prosecutors are examining 121 cases they believe could be linked to the man, who was convicted of killing patients with lethal doses of drugs. Almost 40 bodies have so far been exhumed as part of the investigation, with prosecutors warning that further charges could be brought against him next year. Identified by local media as Ulrich S, he worked at a hospital in western Germany, and was...

An American fertility doctor – and current chair of the University of North Dakota OB-GYN department – is facing a civil lawsuit alleging he secretly used his own genetic material during fertility treatments without patients’ knowledge, reports KVLY. An amended complaint filed last week names Dr Dennis Lutz as the defendant. The three patients named in the suit are Jean Ann Nelson, Tasheena Greaves and Janae Nelson Raymond – Greaves and Raymond being Nelson’s daughters, with DNA testing confirming Lutz as their biological father. The alleged complaint occurred in the mid-1980s when Nelson was a patient of Lutz’s, and had sought fertility...

A North Texas doctor and a spa owner have been arrested and charged with murder in the 2023 death of a client, reports Dallas News. Jenifer Cleveland (47), had gone to Luxe Med Spa in Texas in July 2023 for a spray tan and an IV infusion, but collapsed and died shortly after the infusion. The infusion, which contained a prescription electrolyte solution, was administered by spa owner Amber Johnson, who did not have a medical licence. Cleveland was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after her collapse. According to a report from the Texas Medical Board, anaesthesiologist Dr Michael Gallagher had been...

Numerous and ongoing patient safety failures have led to the US Health & Human Services department launching the decertification process for Network for Hope, the organ procurement organisation serving several regions, reports Becker’s Hospital Review. The group operates in a number of areas in Kentucky and parts of Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. The move follows independent reviews by both the federal Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Health Resources and Services Administration. CMS’ review found continued quality concerns tied to donor evaluation, adverse event review and administration. Network for Hope disputed the decision in a statement to Becker’s, and...

A Nevada wound care specialist, Dr Stephen Dubin, has been accused of cheating Medicare by applying unneeded, expensive wound coverings to seniors, and using the profits to buy flashy yachts, reports The New York Times. Last week the Justice Department filed charges again Dubin alleging that he orchestrated a $95m Medicare fraud scheme that involved applying costly skin substitutes to elderly patients. Dubin was included in a 2025 New York Times investigation into skin substitutes – bandages manufactured out of dehydrated placentas that cost thousands of dollars per square inch but have not been found to help most wounds heal any better...