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Infectious Diseases
TB back as world's deadliest infectious disease
TB was the leading cause of infectious disease-related deaths in 2023 – reclaiming its title which had been replaced by Covid-19 for three years...
Rwanda’s Marburg wanes as mpox cases increase
While the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda appears to be on the decline, with no new cases in the past several days, mpox continues...
Germany IDs first case of new mpox variant
Germany has detected its first case of the new mpox variant, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health said on Tuesday, after a 33-year-old...
Most mpox cases can’t be tracked, says Africa CDC
The Africa Centres for Disease Control & Prevention says that while cases of mpox are steadily increasing across the continent, nearly three-quarters of them have...
Impact of severe Covid on brain’s ‘control centre’ – UK study
British researchers have suggested that severe Covid infections may drive inflammation in the brain’s “control centre”, causing damage that could explain the long-term breathlessness,...
Africa gets pledges of $800m for mpox response
African countries and partners have pledged more than $800m towards the continent’s mpox response amid surging infection, said the director-general of the Africa Centres...
Mpox: 'Nobody is safe until Africa is safe'
The mpox outbreak in Africa is still not under control, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned, adding that...
Women guilty of fatally infecting neighbour with Covid-19
An Australian court has found a woman (54) guilty of fatally infecting her neighbour with Covid-19 – her second pandemic-related conviction in a year...
Are we ready for a smallpox invasion?
The Covid-19 pandemic – and the more recent mpox outbreaks – have drawn fresh attention to the world's readiness and response posture for emerging...
EMA extends mpox jab to youngsters
The European Medicines Authority has recommended extending the indication of the smallpox/mpox vaccine Imvanex (also know as Jynneos) to adolescents aged 12 to 17, the drug...
Mpox drug SAE only in compromised patients – CDC study
An analysis by the US Centres for Disease Control & Infection on the use of Tpoxx – the antiviral drug tecovirimat prescribed to more...
FDA approves DIY nasal spray flu vaccine
The US Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to the first at-home flu vaccine, a nasal spray that US consumers with...
New research bolsters Covid link to Wuhan market animals
An international team of scientists has published a peer-reviewed paper saying genetic evidence indicates the coronavirus pandemic most likely originated with a natural spillover...
Bird flu case raises first suggestion of human transmission
In what could possibly be the first known case in the United States, the H5N1 “bird flu” virus may have now been spread from...
One dose of smallpox jab cuts mpox risk – Canadian study
Recent research suggests that receiving a single dose of one type of smallpox vaccine could reduce the risk of catching mpox by around 60%,...
Path that led to a potential polio resurgence
The first case of paralysis from polio in 25 years has travelled a long path, reports The New York Times. The 10-month-old boy in...
Africa still awaiting mpox jabs from the West, despite promises
Despite the thousands of mpox doses promised to Africa, no vaccines have yet been delivered to any of the countries affected by the outbreak...
Possible secret chlamydia hiding spot found – German study
The world’s most common sexual infection may have a secret hiding spot in the body where it can avoid antibiotics, suggest researchers, after uncovering...
Germany, Japan, offer Africa mpox vaccine doses
Germany is to donate 100 000 mpox vaccine doses from its military stocks to help contain the outbreak in Africa, its government announced this...
Measles closes Northern Cape schools
Four schools were closed in the Northern Cape on Thursday last week after an outbreak of measles, with cases having rapidly escalated from 16...
Outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease in Free State
A small suspected outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (a strain of the Coxsackie virus) has been confirmed by the provincial Health Department at...
Experts flag rise of drug-resistant contagious fungus
A newly named fungal species has global scientists worried about its stubborn resistance to usually effective first-line drugs, the fact that it can be...
Déjà vu global response to mpox
African countries affected by the latest mpox outbreak are racing to mobilise funds and urgently deploy medical countermeasures, including vaccines, as cases continue to...
No need to panic, say SA experts as DRC buckles under mpox spread
The outbreak of mpox on the African continent – that spurred the WHO into declaring it an international public health emergency last week –...
Concern as ‘super-strength’ gonorrhoea gets more drug resistant
Gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, and could be untreatable in the future, health officials have warned as a report reveals a rise...
US rolls out flu jab to combat bird flu risk
A major flu vaccine campaign is being launched for US farm workers as concerns mount over the spreading bird flu virus in the agricultural sector, with...
Gaza to get 1.2m polio jabs amid outbreak fears
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is planning to send 1.2m polio vaccines to Gaza within the next fortnight after the virus was detected in...
Urgent global action needed stop Mpox pandemic
Experts have appealed to the international community for help in controlling the deadly strain of the mpox virus that is rapidly spreading across Africa’s...
Mpox now declared a global emergency
The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency as health authorities sound the...
Mpox cases climb to 24 in SA as incidents rise in Africa
The number of mpox cases in South Africa has risen to 24, with another two cases being confirmed at the weekend – in Gauteng...
HIV not the highest risk factor for TB in South Africa – US-SA study
American researchers, working with local scientists in the Northern Cape, have suggested that while HIV increases the likelihood of contracting the globe’s leading infectious...
Urgent plea for action as malaria drug-resistance grows
A group of 28 leading scientists from 10 countries has warned that millions of lives are at risk unless urgent and radical action is...
Daily antibiotic wards off STIs – Canadian study
Scientists from Vancouver say their recent small study suggests a daily dose of a common antibiotic may prevent some infections with syphilis, gonorrhoea and...
SA data track shows how pathogens spread and superbugs evolve
For the first time, researchers have been able to precisely quantify the ability of different pneumococcal strains to survive and reproduce, an insight that...
WHO suggests therapeutic HPV jabs to scale up vaccination
While a vaccine already exists to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer, more than 20 therapeutic HPV vaccine candidates are...
HPV one-dose jab campaign to now include private schools
The Department of Health has announced that it is moving from a two-dose to a single-dose HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine regimen and that...
Don't delay mpox vaccine roll-out, experts urge health authorities
Health experts say government should start the roll-out of mpox vaccines to targeted groups without delay as a third man (40) died of mpox...
Donated mpox jabs arriving soon – Phaahla
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla says doses of the mpox vaccine will be arriving soon for free distribution at clinics – this after South...
Paxlovid no better than placebo for long Covid – US study
In what will be a blow for millions of people with long Covid, which currently has no approved treatment or cure, a recent study...
European warning on drug-resistant gonorrhoea and rise in infections
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has recorded a worryingly dramatic surge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) amid a substantial increase in...