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Infectious Diseases
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...
New long Covid definition proposed by US National Academies
America’s National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has proposed a new definition of long Covid – one requiring no lab confirmation or...
SA records first mpox death
The country recorded its first death from mpox on Monday when a 37-year-old man died in Tembisa Hospital, with Health Minister Joe Phaahla saying...
Mexican man dies from new H5N2 bird flu variant
A Mexican man, 59, has died after being infected with a bird flu subtype never before confirmed to have spread to humans, the World...
Bird flu hits third US farmworker but symptoms differ
Although a third American farmworker has been infected with bird flu, heightening concerns about an outbreak among dairy cattle that was first identified in...
Durban man in hospital for mpox
In the second lab-confirmed case in the country in recent weeks, a Durban man has tested positive for mpox and been admitted to Addington...
US and Europe move to secure bird flu jabs
America and Europe are taking steps to acquire or manufacture H5N1 bird flu vaccines that could be used to protect at-risk poultry and dairy...
First human bird flu case in Australia
Australia reported its first human case of avian flu this week, in a child who had apparently been infected in India but has since...
WHO report flags global rise of STIs
A new report from the WHO shows that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise worldwide, with chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis, all of...
Leprosy persists in South Africa despite 'elimination' status – 20-year study
Although leprosy has been eliminated (<1 case per 10 000 population) in South Africa since 1926, new cases continue to be reported, say experts,...
Mpox case confirmed in Gauteng
Gauteng authorities have confirmed a case of mpox at Ahmed Kathrada Hospital in Lenasia after a 35-year-old local man tested positive for the disease,...
Why we’re seeing so many viruses emerge
With the widespread outbreak of mpox in 2022, and the evolving bird flu situation – as well as recent cases of Marburg virus in Equatorial...
Worldwide measles cases almost double in a year
Measles cases nearly doubled globally between 2022 and 2023, researchers say, with 321 582 cases worldwide last year, an 88% increase from the previous...
No live bird flu virus in US milk – FDA
US regulators despite an outbreak of bird flu virus among dairy cows, no live virus had been detected in the first batch of retail...
WHO flags 'extraordinarily high' bird flu mortality rate in humans
The World Health Organisation says it is concerned about the spread of H5N1 bird flu, which has an “extraordinarily high” mortality rate in humans, and...
WHO prequalifies new oral cholera vaccine
The World Health Organisation has prequalified a new oral vaccine for cholera, the inactivated Euvichol-S having a similar efficacy to existing vaccines but being...
WHO warning on deadly viral hepatitis
At least 3 500 lives are lost daily due to viral hepatitis infections, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, with...
Doctor’s HPCSA hearing over Covid vaccine comments begins
A disciplinary hearing against doctor Shankara Chetty began in Durban last week after Wits University Professor Francois Venter lodged a complaint against him with...
SA scientists monitor invasive mosquito
The rapid expansion in Africa of the invasive Anopheles stephensi mosquito, which can breed practically anywhere and is not fussy about water, is being...
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...