Weekly Roundup
WHO warns of possible wider outbreak of mystery strain of coronavirus
There may have been limited human-to-human transmission of a new coronavirus in China within families, and it is possible there could be a wider outbreak, Reuters Health reports the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced. A Chinese woman has...FDA approves Merck’s Ketruda — first new treatment for bladder cancer in 20 years
The US Food and Drug Administration has announced it approved Merck & Co Inc’s Keytruda for a hard-to-treat form of bladder cancer, making it the first new treatment for the cancer in more than two decades. Reuters Health reports the therapy...
UK licences radical ketamine-like drug to treat depression
January 15th, 2020 A radical ketamine-like drug has been licensed for use in the UK for severe depression, a decision that offers hope to the millions of patients for whom conventional treatments have failed. The Guardian reports that Esketamine, taken as a nasal...800 Aids community health workers jobless after Tshwane terminates contracts
About 800 Tshwane Aids community health workers have been left in the lurch without jobs after the city terminated their contracts and appointed new recruits, according to a Sowetan report. The health workers work in the municipality's Aids unit...Eastern Cape Health official arrested for ARV theft
Free State police arrested two suspects for the possession of boxes and bags full of antiretroviral tablets at Bloemfontein Railway Station on Thursday of last week, reports News24. "The team followed up on intelligence-driven information and on...Computer theft closes down Khayelitsha clinic
A Cape Town clinic which treats 400 patients daily has been closed after the theft of eight computers, reports The Times. Burglars broke into Kuyasa Community Day Centre in Khayelitsha early on Wednesday of last week, said Cape Town mayoral...SA's medical regulator fires more top managers, raising capacity concerns
South Africa’s medical schemes regulator has taken the shock decision to terminate the services of all but three of the senior managers reporting to its CEO, reports Business Day. The hollowing out of the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) raises...WHO approves cheap version of ground-breaking breast cancer drug
A cheap version of the ground-breaking breast cancer drug Herceptin has been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), raising the possibility of lifesaving treatment for the first time for women in low-income countries, reports The...Health minister caps 2020 medicine price increases
Prices of medicines and scheduled substances will only be adjusted by a maximum of 4.53% in 2020, health minister Zweli Mkhize announced in a recent notice published in the Government Gazette, reports Business Day. Medicine prices in the private...Roaccutane link to 10 suicides leads to UK drugs regulator re-opening inquiry
In the UK, 10 suicides this year have been linked to a powerful acne drug as that country's medicines regulator re-opens an inquiry into it after being contacted by patients. The Guardian reports that 12 deaths were recorded in 2019, 10 by suicide,...Durban Hospital accused of contravening the Human Tissues Act
Medical experts and health workers were outraged after learning that patients’ stillborn babies were allegedly left at the foot of their beds at Wentworth Hospital recently, in contravention of the Human Tissues Act, says a Daily News...WHO approves a third pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has just quality assured a third pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, that protects children against certain types of pneumonia and will be much more affordable than...Thousands of Parkinson's patients initially misdiagnosed
Research has found that more than a quarter of people with Parkinson’s disease were initially misdiagnosed, reports The Guardian. The poll of more than 2,000 people found 26% were first told they had something else, while 21% saw their GP three...New HPV vaccine to be tested in a clinical trial
The broadest vaccine yet that could clear up persistent HPV infections and reduce the risk of women developing cervical cancer is to be tested in a clinical trial. The Guardian reports that human papillomavirus infections are common and are...KZN paramedic temporarily blinded in robbery
An ambulance assistant was left temporarily blinded after he was sprayed with a liquid during an ambulance robbery in Ntuzuma E section, north of Durban, in the early hours of Monday, reports The Times. Netcare 911 MD Craig Grindell confirmed the...