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Infectious Diseases
New cholera vaccine-makers gearing up as global stocks run out
The global stockpile of cholera vaccine has dried up, with doses being given to patients as fast as they are produced, but the good...
Alarm as syphilis rates rise worldwide, including in SA
One of the oldest diseases in the world, syphilis is making an alarming comeback, with leading scientists describing it as a public health crisis...
One in four HIV+ South Africans not on treatment
Around 50 000 people died of HIV-related causes and around 7.8m were living with HIV in South Africa in 2023 – but only 5.9m...
Multiple forms of long Covid hamper diagnosis
Thousands of people around the world may be suffering from long Covid but are not being diagnosed or treated, say experts, because symptoms can...
Bird flu outbreak unlikely among humans, say experts
US experts have issued reassurances that there is minimal risk of a bird flu outbreak among people, after a surge of infections among dairy...
Contaminated water linked to soaring KZN pink eye cases
The National Eye Health Advocacy Project believes there could be a link between an outbreak of ‘pink eye’ – conjunctivitis – in KwaZulu-Natal and...
Rubella cases reported on Garden Route
Although it has not yet declared an outbreak, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases has confirmed 11 cases of rubella (German measles) on the Garden...
New TB framework for improved diagnosis and care
A new framework may better characterise the early stages of tuberculosis (TB) and improve research and clinical care, an international team of researchers has...
American gets bird flu from infected cow
A person in Texas has been infected with bird flu after exposure to dairy cows which had the virus, in the first confirmed case...
More than 100 epidemic emergencies in Africa since January
Since the start of this year, Africa has recorded 44 disease outbreaks, contributing to 104 active epidemic emergencies on the continent, according to the Africa...
Global leaders call for urgent agreement on pandemic deal
A group of more than 100 global leaders has called for governments to reach agreement on an international deal to prepare for and prevent...
Blood test could ID unwitting TB carriers – global study
Scientists say they are close to developing a blood test that could identify millions of people who spread tuberculosis unknowingly, after discovering a group...
Call for action as DRC mpox spreads via heterosexuals
Experts are calling for urgent focus on the outbreak of mpox that appears to be spreading through heterosexual contact in the Democratic Republic of...
KZN pink eye cases surge
The KwaZulu-Natal Health Department has warned of an outbreak of conjunctivitis, particularly in eThekwini, with more than 1 000 cases reported between 29 February...
More than half the world faces high measles risk – WHO
The World Health Organisation warned this week that more than half of the world’s countries will be at high or very high risk of...
Rare case of plague confirmed in US
A rare case of human plague was confirmed in a small rural county in Oregon, USA, last week, marking the first reported case in...
Desperate countries face world shortage of 50m cholera vaccines
The global stockpile of cholera vaccine has run out – just as 16 countries battle outbreaks of the deadly bacterial illness that is infecting millions...
Fungal disease mortality rates worse than thought – UK study
A recently published review by British scientists has found that global incidence and mortality from invasive fungal disease is substantially higher than thought, and...
World leaders prepare for future ‘Disease X’ pandemic
Covid-19 may have settled into a new normal, with even the latest resurgence in cases with a dominant new strain showing no cause for...
DRC records 581 suspected mpox deaths
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded a growing outbreak of mpox cases linked to sexual transmission, the World Health Organisation (WHO)...
‘Walking pneumonia’ may be causing rise in paediatric illnesses worldwide
A surge in paediatric respiratory infections in China, mainly related to respiratory illnesses and pneumonia, has been attributed to respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, Covid-19,...
60m children who missed jabs in pandemic now at risk of killer diseases
Large outbreaks of diseases that mainly kill children are spreading around the world, a grim legacy of disruptions to health systems during the Covid-19...
Global measles cases and deaths rising, warns WHO
After years of declines in measles vaccination coverage, measles cases in 2022 increased by 18%, and deaths by 43% globally (compared with 2021), according...
African countries warned of polio outbreak risks
With 300 confirmed polio cases having already been confirmed in Africa so far this year – and almost 250 detections in wastewater samples –...
First new gonorrhoea drug in 40 years offers promise
A new antibiotic to treat gonorrhoea may be on the horizon after a successful phase 3 trial of an oral pill, zoliflodacin, that was...
Spanish flu skeletons show who was likely to die
It has long been assumed that the 1918 flu pandemic (also known by the misnomer ‘Spanish flu’) indiscriminately struck the young and healthy, the...
WHO's second malaria vaccine will save millions of lives
An inexpensive malaria vaccine that can be produced on a massive scale has been recommended for use by the World Health Organization (WHO), with...
Scientists re-engineer vaccines to help eradicate polio
British and US scientists have collaborated to “super-engineer” polio vaccines to prevent them from mutating into a dangerous form that can cause outbreaks and...
Should there be universal screening for the often ignored CMV in newborns?
A condition which affects at least 20 000 babies born in the US each year and leaves about 4 000 of them with serious...
Vaccine candidates offer hope for African Marburg spread
Africa’s slow but steady spread of Marburg, the Ebola-like virus that can kill as many as 90% of the people it infects, could be...
Promising results from stage 2 MDR-TB STREAM – world’s largest trial
The world’s largest clinical trial for multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has found that the two new shortened treatment regimens are safe and effective, and not...
Rising global TB deaths and infections a 'wake-up call'
For the first time in 20 years, there has been an increase in the estimated number of global TB cases and deaths, with some...
SA to expedite TB diagnosis/treatment as cases continue to soar
Over the next five years, the national Department of Health plans to initiate a system that supports potential tuberculosis patients from the moment they...
Oxford launches trial for monkeypox antiviral drug
The Oxford University team credited with finding effective drugs to treat COVID is trialling an antiviral called tecovirimat to treat monkeypox, which although typically...
UWC study explores common carbohydrate as treatment for TB
A common and popular food industry carbohydrate is being researched as a possible treatment for cancer and other diseases, including tuberculosis, writes Professor Admire...
French study suggests monkeypox can spread asymptomatically
A study from France is raising questions about whether monkeypox can be transmitted asymptomatically, after researchers collected anorectal swabs from 200 men who have...
French couple infects pet dog with monkeypox in first hint of spillover risk
The first recorded case of a person passing monkeypox to a dog could be a harbinger of other animals catching the deadly virus, and...
Century-old BCG vaccine prevents TB in children, not adults – Boston meta-analysis
A recent study has found that the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination at birth provides significant protection against tuberculosis, but only among children under five-years-old...
New antibiotic-resistant genes identified in TB in 23-country analysis
A massive analysis of more than 10 000 different Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria isolated from 23 countries has revealed new genes associated with resistance to...
Zoonotic diseases: Sindbis, Langya and monkeypox outbreaks keep scientists on alert
Since COVID-19 reared its head and exploded around the globe, several previously fairly dormant diseases and viruses have also emerged, creating increasing awareness of...