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News Update
First combined heart pump and pig kidney transplant
The first transplant surgery to combine a mechanical heart pump as well as a gene-edited pig kidney has been performed on an American woman.
Lisa...
Aspen ready to help shrink global shortage of weight-loss drugs
Aspen, Africa’s largest pharmaceutical company, could potentially help ease a growing shortage of the world’s hot-selling obesity medications, said CEO Stephen Saad recently, even...
Daily dice with death for Bay EMS staff
Public and private EMS workers in Nelson Mandela Bay are increasingly being targeted by criminals, frequently held up, hijacked, robbed, shot at and pistol-whipped...
Provincial Health Department corruption rife
Health Minister Joe Phaahla said provincial Health Departments have recorded 47 corruption cases since January 2023, involving every province except North West.
Replying to parliamentary...
Doctor implicated in murder of ex-wife
A Gauteng doctor allegedly paid a hitman and his driver R35 000 to gun down his ex-wife – a high school teacher – a...
New orthopaedic unit for Red Cross Children’s Hospital
A state-of-the-art new orthopaedic unit will benefit more than 1 400 clubfoot patients, conduct 1 000 surgeries annually, and provide care for more than...
Toxic cough syrup now unavailable in Africa – WHO
The contaminated batch of Benylin paediatric syrup that recently triggered a product withdrawal on the continent is no longer available in African countries, the...
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...
Popular pastor pushes malaria vax conspiracy theories
One of Africa’s best known evangelical preachers, Nigeria’s Chris Oyakhilome, is spreading the message, through sermons on his church’s YouTube channel, that malaria vaccines...
PM to crack down on ‘sick note’ culture in UK
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be cracking down on what he describes as a “sick note culture”, after pointing out that 94% of...
Eastern Cape nurse guilty of birth certificate fraud
An Eastern Cape nurse has been sentenced to either four years’ imprisonment or a R20 000 fine after registering the birth of fictitious twins so someone...
Lights back on at Johannesburg hospitals after two-day outage
Electricity was restored to the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital on Tuesday, two days after a power failure at a CBD substation that provides power to...
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...
Swedish legal gender-change age now 16
After six hours of deliberation, Sweden’s Parliament has passed a law lowering the minimum age to legally change gender from 18 to 16 and...
Top job for disgraced former hospital CEO
Former Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital CEO Dr Nozuko Mkabayi, slammed by former Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba for her appalling performance during her...
Probe into Bara’s AWOL high-flying plastic surgeon
Gauteng Health has launched an investigation into plastic surgeon Dr Brian Monaisa, who has been accused by his peers of skipping work for months...
No link between suicide and weight loss drugs – EMA
Evidence does not support a causal association between the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1) – dulaglutide, exenatide, liraglutide, lixisenatide and semaglutide – and suicidal...
Non-payment closes theatres in Gauteng hospital
A frustrated supplier, fed-up with delayed payment from Leratong Hospital in Mogale City, Johannesburg, for replacement of an air conditioning system, has “soft-locked” a...
Failing SA mortuaries ‘smell like 10 dead cows'
Inadequate infrastructure and maintenance at government mortuaries, many of which have failed to meet inspection standards, highlight the grim conditions under which staff conduct...
Millions spent paying Cuban doctors ‘justified’ – medical association
The R14m spent on salaries for 11 Cuban doctors in Gauteng is not unreasonable, according to Kgosietsile Letlape, president of the Africa Medical Association,...
KZN Health MEC sued for defamation
A defamation suit has been launched by Zululand mayor and traditional Zulu Prime Minister Thulasizwe Buthelezi against KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane, who...
RAF’s non-payment to health facility risks lives – DA
The Road Accident Fund’s failure to make payment to Hospicare is exacerbating the trauma of traffic accidents victims, because the entity now faces eviction...
Under-fire EMS staff plead for support, safer conditions
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers in Nelson Mandela Bay protested outside the city hall last week, calling for safer working conditions after numerous robberies...
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...
Nestlé adds sugar to products sold in SA and poorer countries
Nestlé is under fire for ignoring international guidelines aimed at preventing obesity and chronic diseases after campaigners found it has been adding sugar and honey...
Britain takes first step with vote to ban smoking
Britain is on course to ban smoking for an entire generation after a historic vote in the House of Commons this week, which is likely to see the UK...
Hundreds of websites flog fake weight-loss and other drugs
An Israeli cybersecurity firm has taken down more than 250 websites selling fake versions of popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs in the GLP-1 class,...
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...
Life Healthcare shakes up top echelons
Life Healthcare has made changes to its leadership structure after the disposal of the Alliance Medical Group (AMG), with the executive committees of Life Healthcare...
Nigeria and Kenya struggling with exodus of doctors, nurses
Medical professionals are fleeing Nigeria in droves, with the country’s sky-high inflation, low salaries and overstretched healthcare system forcing thousands of doctors and nurses...
Focus on private practice, experts urge jobless young doctors
As KZN relented after protests by unemployed junior doctors, and advertised 120 posts for medics this week, experts are suggesting that the debate should...
Health Ombud hamstrung by lack of funds
The Office of the Health Ombudsman is battling to resolve serious complaints against public and private health facilities because it has no money to hire investigators.
Health-e...
Hospital gives mother wrong baby to bury
The trauma of a mother whose baby was stillborn was compounded two months later when the hospital said she had been given the wrong...
Gauteng claims surgery backlog cleared
Gauteng Health says it has cleared its massive backlog of 37 000 operations, including of stoma reversals – completing 100 of these procedures in...
Gauteng boosts EMS services with intern programme
Gauteng’s Emergency Medical Services welcomed 1 120 emergency care interns to its newly launched Green Angels programme last week, a 12-month initiative providing essential...
Deadly eye drops kill one, infect dozens more in UK
One person has died and dozens more have been infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in an outbreak that has been linked to contaminated eye drops...
New injectable antibiotic approved for three uses
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the injectable drug ceftobiprole medocaril sodium (Zevtera) to treat adults with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), the agency announced...
FDA clears digital app for depression treatment
The US Food and Drug Administration is allowing the use of Rejoyn, the first prescription digital treatment for major depressive disorder that involves an innovative approach...
France a step closer to disposable vape ban
France is inching closer to a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, with lawmakers last week reaching an agreement on a Bill proposing prohibition of sales...
Pig kidney transplant patient discharged from hospital
The recipient of the world’s first pig kidney transplant was discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital last week, nearly two weeks after the surgery, to continue his...