Focus
SA’s health policies should be a key election issue
South Africans can attest to the grim consequences of regressive stances on issues of public health: The disastrous HIV/Aids policies of former president Thabo Mbeki are said to have cost the lives of at least 400,000 South Africans. And while the...The return of the house call in US
A relic from the medical past – the house call – is returning to favour in some US hospitals’ palliative care programmes, which are sending teams of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and other workers to patients’ homes after...Debate over efficacy of stockpiled flu drug Tamiflu
Vast sums may have been wasted on a flu drug that works no better than Paracetamol, reports . The UK has spent £473m on , which is stockpiled by governments globally to prepare for flu pandemics. But a landmark analysis from the claims that the...HIV/AIDS: SA moving to earlier treatment
It is not a matter of if SA will move to earlier HIV treatment, but when. reports that this is according to Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, , who said: 'We are very serious about it - we have always taken our cue from the . Since (their new guidelines) have...SA ranks first in HIV incidence in the world – HSRC survey’s grim finding
With over 400, 000 new HIV infections occurring in 2012, SA ranks first in HIV incidence in the world, says an survey. According to a report, the showed that the total number of infected South Africans now stands at 6.4m – 12.2% of the...Rise in non-communicable disease deaths in SA
Concerns raised by a recent report regarding causes of death in SA, were rekindled when released claims statistics showing lifestyle diseases and injuries were among the leading causes of insurance claims, writes . Musculoskeletal injuries,...SA ranks first in HIV incidence in the world – HSRC survey’s grim finding
With over 400, 000 new HIV infections occurring in 2012, SA ranks first in HIV incidence in the world, says an survey. According to a report, the showed that the total number of infected South Africans now stands at 6.4m – 12.2% of the...WHO launches multi-million dollar Ebola plan
The worst ever Ebola outbreak has killed more than 700 people in and is moving faster than efforts to control it, the head of the warned. reports that Dr Margaret Chan, WHO’s director-general, said the meeting in capital ‘must be a turning...Hepatitis now the number one infectious disease
Hepatitis is now the number one infectious disease killer, ahead of HIV/Aids, TB or malaria, according to data in . Charles Gore, CEO of writes in that one of the reasons is the priority, backed by enormous resources, that has been directed at the...US lab closures signal stronger international controls
After potentially serious back-to-back laboratory accidents, health officials temporarily closed the flu and anthrax laboratories at the in and halted shipments of all infectious agents from the agency’s highest-security labs. reports that the...Shortage of medical staff ‘keenly felt’ in SA
A shortage of doctors and nurses is a ‘global crisis’ that is keenly felt in SA. reports that with the country annually producing less than half of the doctors needed – only 1,200 doctors graduate each year – SA is part of a global shortage...Debate continues to rage over e-cigarette regulation
Whether it is rising cigarette prices or tightening smoking regulations, more people are turning to electronic cigarettes to kick the habit but the debate about e-cigarettes' safety and efficacy rages, reports . Electronic cigarettes, or...South African and United States scientists in HIV breakthrough
In an advance for HIV vaccine research, a South African- United States scientific team has discovered how the immune system makes a powerful antibody that blocks HIV infection of cells by targeting a site on the virus called V1V2, reports . The...Radical change needed to stop initiation deaths – Rijken
As another initiation season looms, Greg Nicolson writes in the that a new website is trying to improve education around the topic. He says the site has been criticised for flouting tradition with its graphic pictures of injured g enitals. But...