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News Update
Approval sought for two paediatric antibiotics for MDR infections
US pharmaceutical company Melinta Therapeutics is to receive funding from the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance two antibiotics targeting...
Semenya wins appeal at European Human Rights Court
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of double 800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya in a case related to testosterone levels...
SA men queue for Botox, fillers
An increasing number of people – worldwide – are looking for short and long-term treatments in their quest for beauty, including in South Africa,...
HRC to probe death of patient ‘abandoned’ by paramedics
Two suspended KZN paramedics who apparently refused to walk down steps to reach a patient in distress, and who drove off after the family...
Fed-up Chatsworth hospital staff protest over conditions
Staff downed tools at RK Khan Hospital in Chatsworth, Durban, last week as nurses, admin and general workers protested for an hour over poor...
Fingerprint system to clear backlog of unclaimed bodies
The identification of unknown bodies piling up in mortuaries across the country is expected to be expedited after the launch last week of a...
WHO alert to severe E-11 infections in newborns
There has been a global rise in enterovirus-echovirus 11 (E-11) neonatal sepsis cases, with another five countries reporting infections similar to those first reported...
First over-the-counter birth control pill approved in US
The US Government has approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, which will be available without a script to women of all ages, probably...
Call for inquiry into ‘systemic healthcare xenophobia’ against migrants in SA
Despite the Gauteng High Court having given all pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, and children under six, regardless of nationality or documentation, the rights to...
Junior doctors in Limpopo still waiting for placement
A total of 79 junior doctors supposedly allocated to public hospitals in Limpopo for their community service and who were due to start work...
Schizophrenia care under strain in private and public health sectors
South Africa’s critical shortage of psychiatrists and specialised staff in the field is not only a public health issue, according to experts, who say...
Charlotte Maxeke elective surgeries cancelled
More than 50 elective cases were cancelled at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital because the heating system failed, according to the DA's Jack Bloom.
In...
Full FDA approval for Alzheimer’s drug
The first treatment targeting Alzheimer’s disease has been given full FDA approval, the agency announced last week, giving the green light to the anti-amyloid...
Time to review underwriting of mental health, say SA insurers
Insurers Investec Life and Liberty are both observing a significant increase in mental health concerns from their client bases, echoing a global trend highlighted...
Post-TB lung disease more common than Covid in SA
Millions of people in South Africa are suffering from post-TB lung disease, which is far more common than Covid and the most common cause...
Public largely unmoved by healthier choices ‘nudges’, say experts
Despite innovative experiments and efforts aimed at prompting people towards healthier choices, these are not always successful, according to experts speaking at the 15th...
Bail denied to GP’s ex-wife who ‘plotted to kill him’
The Gqeberha businesswoman accused of masterminding the murder of her ex-husband, Dr Bantu Noqekwa, in an apparently financially motivated crime, was denied bail in...
Finetown clinic finally opens after four years
The Finetown (Gauteng) clinic opened its doors last week after a four-year campaign by residents since the area’s mobile health facility was razed to...
Patient dies and other hospitalised after unlicensed chemo from NHS provider
A British cancer patient has died and three others have been hospitalised after they were given unlicensed versions of chemotherapy by Sciensus, a company...
Australia calls for sonography regulator
Concerns about patients receiving incorrect or missed diagnoses due to poorly performed ultrasounds have prompted calls for Australian sonographers to be brought under the...
US plastic surgeon faces death penalty
A plastic surgeon in Florida, USA, who has pleaded not guilty to killing a lawyer and dumping his body after a heated and lengthy...
Health Department calls for NHI IT tenders
The National Department of Health is forging ahead with its NHI plans, recently calling for tenders for the hosting, maintenance, support and enhancement of...
Activists campaign for easy-to-understand, user-friendly food labelling
An awareness campaign about the draft regulations on food labelling and marketing –released by the national Health Department in April – has been launched...
More African countries get GSK malaria jab for children
The World Health Organization and Unicef are to distribute 18m doses of GSK’s new RTS/S malaria vaccine to 12 countries, including nine that haven’t...
Australia lifts restrictions on abortion pill
Under new regulations, Australian doctors and nurses will be allowed to prescribe the pregnancy termination pill and all pharmacists permitted to stock it, the...
Income tax hike and payroll tax proposed for NHI funding
A recently circulated fact sheet on funding for the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme suggests that both a payroll tax and a surcharge on...
New guidelines and ARVs for SA children with HIV
Several sessions at the recent 11th SA AIDS conference held in Durban highlighted the worrying fact that key HIV numbers – like treatment coverage –...
Probe launched after Limpopo Health coal tender raises red flags
The Limpopo Department of Health is making headlines again, this time over a coal supply tender for 14 hospitals – many of which do...
Public-private effort saves six-year-old heart patient
Intricate, lifesaving heart surgery at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital has given a a new lease on life to a six-year-old girl, who would have had...
Unsafe water and sanitation to blame for 7 000 deaths in South Africa – WHO report
A study released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene practises in South Africa were responsible for...
MEC orders probe after nurse refuses to help sick child
A Limpopo nurse’s refusal to attend to a sick child landed her in hot water, with Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba launching an investigation after...
US approves blood test to predict pre-eclampsia in pregnancy
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a blood test that can identify pregnant women who are at imminent risk of developing...
New hypertension guidelines released by ESH
The European Society of Hypertension (ESH) has released refreshed guidelines for the management of hypertension, which have been endorsed by the European Renal Association...
North West state hospital performs first atrial septal defect surgery
A North West public hospital has just performed its first-ever atrial septal defect (ASD) surgery, the lifesaving procedure taking the team of specialists less...
Tembisa staff linked to R1bn fraud still at work
Six months after their roles in the massive Tembisa Hospital tender scandal were identified by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), nine senior staff who...
Decline in SA cholera cases
While there has been a significant decline in cholera infections in the past week, the national Health Department says the number of people who...
State’s procurement decisions ‘illogical’: Aspen boss
‘Nonsensical’ decisions by the government on medication procurement are hampering the economy and increasing South Africa’s trade deficit in pharmaceuticals, said Stavros Nicolaou, Aspen...
Most interns, junior doctors finally placed
More than 1 100 medical interns and junior doctors have finally been placed for the medical Internship and Community Service Programme (ICSP) – just...
Gavi green-lights new jab in global fight against polio
The governing board of Gavi, the international organisation that provides vaccines to developing countries, had added a new shot to its roster that could help...
650 000 UK hospital cancellations as NHS strike bites
Mass National Health Service (NHS) strikes have resulted in 650 000 hospital cancellations and appointment postponements so far, with worse to come as Britain braces...