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News Update
US medical school in hot water for liquefying bodies after using for training
The University of North Texas Health Science Centre has been ordered to immediately stop its practice of liquefying bodies after using them for training...
Hijackers leave EMS crew, patient (8) on roadside
Hijackers targeted an ambulance near Qumbu in the Eastern Cape on Monday night – the fourth department vehicle to be hijacked here since January...
Discovery under fire for Israel link to summit
Despite criticism from some social media users, Discovery SA went ahead with its hosting of the global Future of Health (FOH) Summit in Cape...
First clade 1b mpox case detected in America from Africa
In the first known case in the United States, a Californian man has tested positive for the mpox Clade 1b virus that’s currently running...
Doctor shot dead outside gym
A 34-year-old female doctor at a public hospital was fatally shot outside a gym in Mbombela yesterday morning. A TimesLIVE report says local police...
Medico-legal liabilities drop as provinces adopt new measures
There has been a noticeable reduction in the contingent liabilities facing provincial Health Departments, thanks to better application of its accounting guidelines for medical...
Former Health Ombud slams fake ‘diabetes cure’ posts
Former Health Ombud Professor Malegapuru Makgoba intends pursuing legal and forensic investigations after an online article claimed he had discovered a “natural” cure for...
Woman dies after liposuction procedure as dodgy spas spread worldwide
Unregistered and dicey cosmetic surgical procedures and salons continue to lure women worldwide, writes MedicalBrief. In Kenya, authorities have declared a crackdown on illegal...
Gauteng Premier bans terbufos sales at spaza shops after poisonings
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has banned sales of the pesticide terbufos at spaza shops and informal traders, after the deaths of 23 children in...
'Alleged death' of key player in R836m oxygen tender project
The highly suspicious goings-on related to a multimillion-rand tender for oxygen plants at state hospitals has taken another turn with the reported and sudden...
Doctor accused of violence, domestic abuse, by wife
A Gauteng woman has accused her estranged anaesthesiologist husband of physical abuse and domestic violence, saying he has also violated protection orders and at...
DA punts private practice internships in new Bill
The DA has proposed that the government allow medical practitioners-in-training to be placed at private health facilities for internship or community service in an...
Discovery aims to launch ‘affordable’ medical aid plan
A low-cost medical scheme targeting new entrants and young professionals is in the pipeline from Discovery Health Medical Scheme, which says it will be...
Suppliers owed R743m by Gauteng Health
The Gauteng Health Department has owed 69 suppliers R743m for more than a year, with some companies now refusing to do any more business...
Broken X-ray machine and no water for five years at Limpopo hospital
Limpopo’s historic Elim Hospital, which is more than a century old, does not have a functioning X-ray machine, and has not had a reliable...
Mpox vaccine doses head for Africa’s worst hit countries, including SA
An initial 899 000 vaccine doses have been allocated for the nine African countries being pummelled by the mpox surge, said the WHO and...
Teen critical in Canada’s first human bird flu case
A teenager is in critical condition in a British Columbia children’s hospital with what appears to be Canada’s first human case of bird flu,...
British Covid denier jailed for violent threats against health chief
An "obsessive" Covid denier in the UK who suggested using a bat to “whack” Professor Sir Chris Whitty – Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for...
Un flags increase in young people with mental disorders
According to alarming statistics from the United National Children’s Fund (Unicef), one in seven young people between 10 and 19 lives with a diagnosable...
Raid uncovers illegal sale of scheduled meds
The Gauteng Department of Health has sounded the alarm after a raid uncovered the illegal sale of scheduled medication at several establishments in the...
PMB hospital gets world-class award for quality stroke care
Netcare St Anne’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg has been recognised with top-level Diamond status by the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) Angels Initiative for its role in...
Companies partner to create secure health records from birth
Parents can now effortlessly establish a lifelong medical record for their children right from birth, thanks to a collaboration between Ajuda, a personal digital...
More suspected poisonings after death of 10-year-old girl
A 10-year-old girl died and her four-year-old sibling and mother are in a critical condition in Edenvale Hospital, Gauteng, after another case of suspected...
Nineteen-day wait for emergency op in KwaZulu-Natal hospital
The plight of a Northern KwaZulu-Natal man who fell through a roof and broke his femur echoes the stories of thousands of patients who...
Gugulethu locals fed-up with waiting for new hospital
Residents in Gugulethu are demanding that the Western Cape Department of Health expedite plans to build a new hospital in the area, accusing it...
FDA approves new oral drug for UTIs, despite concerns
A new oral antibiotic has cracked the nod from the FDA for the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections, despite the agency’s reviewers voicing...
Baby powder recalled after suspected asbestos link
Another baby powder in the US has made the news after the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced an expanded recall of a range...
DRC fights mpox-measles co-infections
Africa’s mpox situation is being complicated by measles co-infections in children in two Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provinces, say officials from the...
WHO lists top endemic pathogens urgently needing new vaccines
A World Health Organisation (WHO) study published this week in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine names 17 pathogens – that regularly cause diseases in communities –...
Teens’ anxiety, depression, rises after four hours’ screen time, say experts
Teenagers who spend four or more hours in front of the screen each day are more likely to experience anxiety and depression, according to a new report from...
UK identifies first cases of imported clade 1b mpox
After identifying the first case of the new mpox variant clade Ib in the UK last week, authorities have now detected another two cases...
Triplets becoming less common in the US
Giving birth to triplets, quadruplets or even more has become increasingly less common in the United States, the decline being particularly noticeable in mothers...
Health bus on fire with 52 patients onboard
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has launched an investigation after a patient transport vehicle caught fire on Monday while transporting 52 patients along the...
AstraZeneca China operations boss under investigation
AstraZeneca says its China operations president Leon Wang is under investigation but has not clarified whether he is being detained or what the probe...
Court injunction stops Canadian woman’s scheduled euthanasia
A Canadian woman – who had scheduled an assisted suicide for 27 October – had her plan blocked when a British Columbian judge issued...
SAHPRA approves bid for unregistered cancer drug
Umhlanga cancer patient Ina Requilet finally has access to potentially life-saving medication after the health regulator approved a treatment not yet registered in South...
‘Ghost company’ bags R428m oxygen plants tender
In a scenario reminiscent of the dodgy Digital Vibes scandal, unknown, obscure, apparently unaccredited private contractors have been appointed to install oxygen plants at...
Drugmaker recalls anxiety medicines over cancer concerns
A recall has been issued for thousands of bottles of the medicine duloxetine because they may contain a potentially cancer-causing agent, according to the US...
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...
Power cut at KZN Health HQ over hospital’s R6m bill
Pietermaritzburg’s acting city manager Nelly Ngcobo and a convoy of vehicles from the local Msunduzi municipal electricity department descended on Grey’s Hospital on Monday...