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News Update
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TB was the leading cause of infectious disease-related deaths in 2023 – reclaiming its title which had been replaced by Covid-19 for three years...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...
Health Committee pushes ahead with Tobacco Bill
Parliament’s Health Portfolio Committee is going ahead with processing the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill despite concerns about the lack of...
Novo seeks FDA ban on compounded Ozempic
Novo Nordisk has asked the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent compounding pharmacies from manufacturing their own versions of the company’s weight...
Union slams conditions at Eastern Cape mortuaries
The Public Servants Association (PSA) has urged Eastern Cape Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa to urgently tackle the shocking state of state mortuaries and ensure...
MPs call for Health Department to recoup foreigner nationals' medical expenses
Parliament’s Health Committee wants the Department of Health to consider recouping money spent on treating foreign nationals at state facilities, saying, after reviewing the...
UK private healthcare thriving while NHS flounders
British patients are increasingly flocking to private providers for their healthcare as the National Health Service (NHS) buckles under lengthy waiting lists, which have...
Community health workers protest for full-time jobs
Community health workers picketed outside the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday where their employment status is being litigated, saying they have been fighting...
Probe at KZN hospital after patient set herself alight
KwaZulu-Natal Health is investigating the death of a woman (41) last week who died after setting herself on fire at Clairwood Hospital, with the...
UK’s disposable vape ban coming next year
Britain is to enforce its ban on disposable vapes next year, with new laws giving suppliers a deadline of 1 June 2025 to dump...
Freeze on equipment outlays as Gauteng budget falters
Gauteng Health has halted the procurement of all new equipment with immediate effect, further crippling state hospitals already constrained by various shortages, including staff.
A...
Tygerberg faces C-section backlog crisis
The backlog of pregnant women awaiting elective Caesareans at Tygerberg Hospital’s maternity ward has increased, according to staff, who say that while the waiting...
Regulator rules for medical aid members in more than 50% of disputes
The Council for Medical Schemes has said that in the past financial year, it found in favour of more than 50% of members who...
Health inspector army seeks ‘chemical agent’ tied to food poisonings
The Department of Health is dispensing 80 environmental health inspectors to search for “chemical agents” believed to be responsible for a rash of apparent...
SAHPRA pleads for increased funding
SA’s medicines regulator has again appealed to National Treasury for more funding, saying its increasing reliance on fee income puts it in a precarious...
Fake medicines trade flourishing in KZN
Organised crime networks are continuing to do a roaring trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products smuggled into South Africa and into the hands of desperate...
Emergency personnel may be linked to ambulances sabotage
Mpumalanga authorities are investigating claims that some Health Department staff deliberately damaged ambulances in acts of sabotage, rendering them unusable.
The province is already desperately...
Health Squared members unlikely to retrieve savings after liquidation
While it is still unclear if members of Health Squared Medical Scheme – which was placed in final liquidation in February 2023 – will...
Bloemfontein morgue closed for health, safety reasons
After receiving numerous complaints, the Department of Employment & Labour has closed a government mortuary in Bloemfontein until further notice for violating the Occupational...
Manager jailed after medical supplies fraud ring bust
A logistics manager at a company subcontracted to supply medical equipment to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in Durban has been sentenced to eight...
UK blocks Alzheimer’s ‘wonder drug’ over costs
The most effective drug for Alzheimer’s has been blocked for use on the NHS, banned – despite regulators declaring it safe – because of...
Rwanda’s Marburg wanes as mpox cases increase
While the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda appears to be on the decline, with no new cases in the past several days, mpox continues...
‘Brain dead’ US man awakens during organ harvesting
An American man who had gone into cardiac arrest and been declared brain dead woke up as surgeons were midway through harvesting his organs for...
‘Race science’ group claims to have accessed sensitive data
Undercover footage has revealed that fringe researchers advocating “nefarious” theories – that intelligence is based on race – claim to have obtained data from...
Egypt now malaria-free
Egypt has become the fourth African country to eradicate malaria, a “disease that plagued pharaohs”, in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) said was...
Germany IDs first case of new mpox variant
Germany has detected its first case of the new mpox variant, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health said on Tuesday, after a 33-year-old...
JAMA launches AI website
In acknowledgement of the increasing importance of artificial intelligence in healthcare, a website devoted to research and news related to AI and machine learning...
Why SAMA is staying out of NHI negotiations
The SA Medical Association has ‘deliberately’ not partnered with Business Unity South Africa (Busa), and funders in their ongoing negotiations with President Cyril Ramaphosa...
Minister tweaks community service posts to reduce shortfall
A shortfall in community service posts for doctors and several other disciplines will be adjusted by converting an over-supply in other fields, Health Minister...
AG scathing about R150m health contract
A scathing report from the Auditor-General suggests that the National Department of Health (NDoH) appeared to deliberately evade legislation and regulations to grant a...
KwaZulu-Natal hospital disputes claim of patient neglect
Pietermaritzburg’s Northdale Hospital has denied ignoring the plight of a patient who arrived needing urgent treatment after suffering a seizure.
The family of the patient...
Eastern Cape hospital CEO racks up R574 000 in hotel bills
An Eastern Cape hospital CEO has been staying in hotels since 2022 – at a cost of more than half a million rands –...