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News Update
Charlotte Maxeke shortages put patients at risk, says insider
Patient care has been compromised recently at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, despite the reassurances and denials from Gauteng Health, according to an insider, who...
Preventable blindness still a major challenge in Africa, says specialist
One of Africa’s biggest eye health challenges is avoidable blindness, a leading eye specialist told TimesLIVE, warning that although South Africa is making progress...
Man dies of drug toxicity after quitting smoking
A British patient on anti-psychotic drugs died in October 2025 from fatal clozapine toxicity after he suddenly stopped smoking, reports the BBC, with concerns...
Explosive mpox outbreak batters Madagascar
More than 3 000 cases of mpox have been recorded in Madagascar after the virus spread from a single port city to some of...
Uganda declares its Ebola-free status, as Congo cases keep rising
Authorities in Uganda declared the country free of Ebola last week after the discharge of the country’s last patient in mid-June – as the virus continues...
Australian doctors threaten to strike
Public hospital doctors in the Australian state of Victoria voted to begin industrial action after the government failed to meet their demands on issues...
Migrants’ healthcare under the spotlight again as new hospital opens
The thorny question of who should pay for foreign nationals’ healthcare has been raised again, this time at the opening by President Cyril Ramaphosa...
Measles cases reach 35-year high in United States
America has already recorded 2 295 measles cases this year, a number not seen since 1991, according to new data published on the Johns...
Nigerian doctors flag dire shortage of medical schools
The Nigeria Medical Association has warned that the shortage of healthcare professionals and personnel is a crisis, urging the local government in the state...
HIV 2030 target unlikely, as funding crisis pummels global Aids response
The chances of the world ending Aids as a public health threat by 2030 are looking increasingly remote, according to concerned global health experts...
Discounted Ozempic copy unlikely to be covered by medical aids
Novo Nordisk has announced that it will be launching a cheaper, registered version of its diabetes treatment Ozempic in South Africa at a discount...
DignitySA buoyed by NDPP’s decision
DignitySA’s Constitutional Court challenge to decriminalise medically assisted dying will not be opposed by the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), it said in...
Murder charge for HIV+ man who deliberately infected girlfriend
A Boschkop man (47) has appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on an attempted murder charge after allegedly concealing his HIV status and intentionally...
DNA test ordered in IVF dispute between two couples
A KwaZulu-Natal High Court (Durban) High Court Judge has authorised a court order for a black Ballito couple to proceed with a DNA test...
Free State judge on fully paid sick leave for eight years
A Judicial Conduct Tribunal is considering whether a Free State Judge may remain on the Bench after a lengthy eight years of sick leave...
Gauteng Health and DA in spat over Tambo Hospital surgery delays
Gauteng Health has denied accusations that patients at Tambo Memorial Hospital have had their elective surgeries postponed until June 2027, amid claims by the...
Private Free State hospital helps reduce state surgery backlog
A private hospital in Bloemfontein has partnered with the Free State Department of Health to address the backlog of more than 4 000 cases,...
Pro-Gaza stance cost UCT R250m in donor funding
The University of Cape Town’s two pro-Gaza resolutions adopted in 2024 resulted in the loss of donor funding worth R250m, including R15m for student...
Rob Ferreira Hospital launches urgent repairs after HRC probe
A damning human rights probe exposing broken plumbing, chronic hot water shortages, and doorless toilets at an Mbombela hospital has prompted the Mpumalanga Department...
Stellenbosch project speeds up TB diagnosis with AI technology
In what is expected to be an important weapon in the fight against tuberculosis, Stellenbosch University is leading AddiCAD, a R46m international project to...
SA dumps 45 000 tonnes of medical waste annually
At least 45 000 tonnes of healthcare waste are produced annually in this country, much of it being disposable plastic products, and while a...
Hantavirus kills three people in Venezuela
Venezuela officials confirmed last week that three people had died of hantavirus infections, but stressed there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission in the South American...
Weight-loss big guns in legal battle over GLP-1 advertising
A lengthy legal tussle is expected after Novo Nordisk launched a lawsuit against Eli Lilly last week, alleging that its advertising campaigns for its obesity and...
Digital tools help Zimbabwe’s HIV migrants stay in care
As thousands of Zimbabweans return home from South Africa in a wave of deportations and anti-immigrant sentiment, health experts warn that disruptions to HIV...
Zimbabwean farmers feed ARVs to chickens to fatten them up
In efforts to maximise profits, Zimbabwean chicken farmers regularly buy antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), intended for HIV patients in the country – on the black...
Australian woman gives birth to rare identical quad girls
An Australian woman has given birth to identical quadruplet girls after a pregnancy doctors described as incredibly rare, reports The Associated Press.
Jenitar Sau Na’amoana...
Germany’s sick-note crackdown as ‘off’ days surge
Germany’s plans to tighten sick-note rules have been slammed by unions and doctors’ associations, which suggest that the rise in sick days, among the...
Concern as clinic flood damages records, amid claims of file theft
A water leak that resulted in the flooding of a Khayelitsha clinic, damaging patient records, has reignited community concerns about file theft, reports News24.
The...
Japan plans world’s first pig-kidney transplant to human foetus
A clinical research team led by the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo – in collaboration with Thai and German institutions – plans...
Cheaper weight loss generics on the way for South Africa
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority is reviewing 12 applications for generic versions of semaglutide, with an Indian pharma giant being the first to get...
Medscheme drops Bonitas court fight
Medscheme has withdrawn its legal application against Bonitas Medical Fund, clearing the way for the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to carry out its forensic investigation...
Millions in assets to be seized from alleged Tembisa-linked looter
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has welcomed the final court order for the National Prosecuting Authority to permanently seize assets worth R325m linked to...
Massive security upgrades after 100 break-ins at Gqeberha hospital complex
Despite the staggering statistics of more than 100 break-ins, burglaries and robberies at Eastern Cape health facilities last year – resulting in damages of...
Risks to local communities when migrants denied healthcare access
Healthcare workers and humanitarian organisations warn that South Africa’s anti-migrant campaign – and the disruption of their access to healthcare and any interrupted chronic...
Nothing dodgy about ARV tender awards, says Motsoaledi
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has dismissed the suggestion of any irregularities during the recent awarding of the country’s R15bn antiretroviral tender, reports the Cape...
UKZN teams help 74 patients in ‘surgical marathon’ effort
Urology specialists and trainees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) helped treat 74 patients during a five-day surgical marathon aimed at reducing elective surgery...
Cholesterol-busting pill gets go-ahead from FDA
A new daily pill – which slashes cholesterol levels far below what can be achieved with statins, according to clinical trials, and which is also...
UK court confirms World Cup winner died from heading thousands of balls
A British coroner court ruled last week that England 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles died from a brain condition caused by repeatedly heading...
Mammoth struggle to contain rapidly-spreading Ebola cases in DRC
The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak, announced just two months ago, has already infected more than 2 120 people and caused...
6 000 Zimbabwean babies, 500 mothers, died in 2025
More than 6 100 babies died within the neonatal period in Zimbabwe last year – most from birth asphyxia – while 563 women lost...