Research Africa
Low-cost jaundice detector passes first trial in Africa
BiliSpec a low-cost, battery-powered reader designed to diagnose jaundice by immediately quantifying serum bilirubin levels from a small drop of whole blood, has successfully passed its first clinical trial in Malawi. The first clinical study of...Landmark Tuks study on heatwave-linked mortality in SA
South Africans 65 or older living in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg faced a “significant increase in mortality” from increased daily ambient apparent temperature – a combination of humidity and temperature. This is among the findings of a...Timeline to the stages of tuberculosis disease progression
University of Cape researchers have uncovered a sequence of biological processes that occur in humans infected with the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the infection progresses to pulmonary tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis infects about a...Trial to tackle HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis deaths in Africa
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is to lead a major new clinical trial in southern and east Africa which aims to tackle the high number of deaths caused by HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis (CM), a severe fungal infection...SA adolescents full of conspiracy theories, ignorance, about HIV
Almost 30% of adolescents in Soweto, Johannesburg, believe the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a conspiracy. More than half were unsure of the virus's origins. This is according to the results of a health study aimed at investigating the...
Rural life expectancy differences due to TB and violence
October 18th, 2017 The gender differences in adult life expectancy in SA's rural KwaZulu-Natal are exceptionally large, atypical for an African population, and largely driven by high male mortality from pulmonary TB and injuries, found a new study. A 'remarkable'...Cape Town med students at high risk of contracting TB
Undergraduate medical students in Cape Town are at high risk of occupationally acquired tuberculosis (TB), with an unmet need for comprehensive occupational health services and support. These were the findings of a study conducted by experts from...
HEV re-emerging as a zoonotic virus also afflicting the affluent
August 16th, 2017 Hepatitis E (HEV) is shifting from being a disease of the poor to one that can affect affluent people in developed world settings, with HEV re-emerging as a zoonotic virus, Dr Tongai Maponga of Stellenbosch University. Hepatitis E gets...Self-testing improves uptake among sex workers
A year ago there was virtually no evidence on the acceptability and feasibility of HIV self-testing in female sex workers, but a series of presentations from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda and Kenya by researchers at RTI International, Women's Global...
School malaria prevention programmes dramatically cut infection
July 19th, 2017 Schools that provide prevention education, insecticide-treated nets and antimalarial treatment, in regions where malaria is highly seasonal, could reduce the risk of schoolchildren developing anaemia and improve their cognitive performance,...
Gunshot wounds place hefty burden on SA's orthopaedic healthcare resources
July 12th, 2017 In 2012‚ Groote Schuur Hospital spent a total of R2.7m, excluding salaries, on the 111 patients it treated for orthopaedic gunshot wounds, found a Univeristy of Cape Town and University of Texas study. Almost 55,000 gun-related injuries were...
SA med students failing to recognise childhood cancer's early warning signs
July 12th, 2017 Final-year SA medical students remember only six of at least 20 early warning signs of childhood cancer, found a University of the Witwatersrand study. Medical schools needed to reassess their methods of training, said Dr Jennifer Ann Geel, who led...New service initiatives needed for HIV-positive adolescents in SSA
Healthcare providers in sub-Saharan Africa are struggling to provide services for HIV-positive adolescents, found a multi-country situational analysis. Facilities in 23 countries, which collectively provide care to over 80,000 adolescents...Simple measures are all most women need after a medical abortion
SMS advice‚ a checklist and a simple home urine test are all most women need after a medical abortion, found a University of Cape Town study. The Times reports a Cape Town study has found. A team led by Deborah Constant‚ of the Women’s...
Immediate point-of-care CD4 count doubles rate of linkage to HIV care
June 21st, 2017 Carrying out a point-of-care CD4 count immediately after a person was diagnosed with HIV by home-based testing doubled the rate of linkage to HIV care in a resource-limited setting, a randomised study in Kenya has shown. In an accompanying...