Focus
Global obesity rates will ‘crush public health systems’
The number of people in the world who are obese or overweight has topped 2.1bn, up from 875m in 1980. And, reports, the latest figures in show that not one country is succeeding in treating it. Experts attribute the rise ‘modernisation’,...BMJ weighs withdrawal of articles as statin controversy heats up
Everyone over the age of 40 should take cholesterol-busting statins. The reports that this is according to UK heart surgeon, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub of , who said the benefits of the controversial drugs ‘massively’ outweigh the risks and to...Upping the ante in the fight against FGM
Female g enital mutilation (FGM) is not just an African problem. A British helpline received 215 calls in just under 10 months, reports. Almost half of the cases have been referred to the police or children’s services. John Cameron, from the...Antibiotic resistance bigger than Aids epidemic – WHO
In the most comprehensive picture of drug resistance across the globe, with data from 114 countries, the warns of a crisis bigger and more urgent that the Aids epidemic of the 1980s. reports that in , the WHO’s Dr Keiji Fukuda writes: ‘A...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...