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News Update
‘Unethical’ hepatitis B jab study to go ahead in Guinea-Bissau
The University of Southern Denmark has given the green light to the controversial $1.6m CDC-funded study in Guinea-Bissau that plans to offer life-saving hepatitis...
UK approves new weekly insulin shot
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised Eli Lilly’s Onswik (insulin efsitora alfa) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus...
CDC Africa offices close as Trump targets new deals
The US Government agency charged with combating disease outbreaks abroad is shrinking as Donald Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign policy takes hold, with...
UN warns of thriving illicit medicines trade across central Africa
The United Nations issued another warning last week that central Africa could be facing a major public health threat from trafficked and illicit medicines,...
China announces candidate for WHO chief
China has announced its candidate nomination to lead the World Health Organisation and succeed current DG Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who reaches the end of...
Gauteng Health boosts podiatric care to stem tide of disabilities
In efforts to reduce avoidable disabilities, amputations and complications linked to chronic conditions, the Gauteng Department of Health is beefing up access to podiatry...
US to launch new vaccine research centre
US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr has announced a series of initiatives to study the rare adverse effects of vaccines, including a specialist research...
German and US scientists scoop Nobel Prize for unique brain mapping
Neuroscientists Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their research into light-gated ion channels and...
Commission issues deadline for Eastern Cape hospitals to resolve issues
Women who had just given birth in Eastern Cape hospitals had to sleep on cold floors and benches because of a bed shortage, the...
SAHPRA reminder on ACE inhibitor risks
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has issued an alert to healthcare professionals of the risk of angioedema during treatment with angiotensin-converting...
Health Department turns to Section 21 medicines amid shortage
While some desperate patients are turning to veterinarians for their epilepsy medicines as the national medicine shortage crisis reaches alarming levels, it turns out...
MPs call for mediation, urgent action on dental technician impasse
A seven-year standoff between the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the SA Dental Technicians Council is preventing students from completing their practical training,...
MK Party demands Motsoaledi’s head over health adspend
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi must resign and a nationwide parliamentary inquiry into health procurement should be launched, according to the MK Party after the latest governmental...
Gauteng EMS staff dispute continues
The row over Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff contracts and overtime is unresolved, with 21 people being charged and facing disciplinary action, reports...
Plague cover-up suspected after Russian woman's death and 200 under observation
Almost 200 people have been placed under medical observation in Russia’s Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia after a scientist died from suspected exposure to...
South African research takes huge R2.5bn knock from US aid cuts
The withdrawal of US research funding had cost South Africa’s science system a substantial R2.5bn, putting research jobs and student degrees at risk, Science,...
Alleged 'fake' doctor in court on fraud charges
In a case that has been dragging on for years, a KwaZulu-Natal man accused of using a fraudulent MBChB degree to register as a...
Gauteng Health rejects hospital costs claim by family of burned toddler
A BackaBuddy campaign has already raised more than R700 000 for hospital bills for a little boy badly burned after falling into a bath...
SA medical students suffer harsh conditions in Cuba
The National Department of Health has admitted that it hasn’t conducted an oversight visit in Cuba for four years – this as shocking conditions...
Merck pulls antibiotic for multidrug-resistant infections
Merck has announced that it will no longer manufacture or market the antibacterial combination drug Recarbrio as “part of an ongoing review of its...
Eastern Cape 6.37kg baby sets new hospital record
A baby boy has broken the birthweight records at Life Beacon Bay Hospital in KuGompo (East London), tipping the scales at 6.37kg when he...
Congo politician beaten to death after urging Ebola prevention
A senior member of Congo’s ruling party was killed in a beating after taking part in a radio programme to raise awareness about the...
FDA green-lights first treatment for rare thyroid hormone disorder
The FDA has approved tiratricol (Emcitate) to treat peripheral thyrotoxicosis in patients with monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) deficiency, the agency announced last week, marking the...
Kenya confirms first Ebola case after traveller’s death
Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on Tuesday after a Kenyan citizen who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi,...
Discovery Vitality offers support for GLP-1 users fighting weight loss
In efforts to sustain the use of GLP-1 drugs by its members – most of whom stop claiming for the treatment within six months...
WHO says no to obesity drugs, surgery, for under-10s
Medicine and surgery are not the answer for overweight children, the World Health Organisation has said, releasing its first guidelines addressing the escalating obesity...
Timelines set for SA euthanasia test case
Assisted dying and euthanasia laws and policies are gradually being reformed worldwide, and in South Africa, a key test on the right to die...
Safety concerns for Western Cape Health staff after 20 hijackings
Frontline staff from the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness are increasingly anxious about their safety and travelling into communities to provide essential...
More than R700m, and six years later, ‘state-of-the-art’ path lab still not ready
There is still no completion date for Johannesburg’s new forensic pathology lab, which remains an empty shell while the current facility – the condemned...
SA pharma sector welcomes price hike
An announced 2.88% increase in the single exit price (SEP) of medicines from 1 October will have a limited effect on patients but was...
SIU seizes R42m assets linked to Tembisa bribes
Cash, properties, pensions and investments worth about R42.2m have been secured by the Special Investigating Unit after being linked to bribes allegedly paid by...
International virology award for Professor Tulio De Oliveira
An international award was recently bestowed on Professor Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University,...
Probe after video suggests clinic nurses were inebriated
The Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness is investigating allegations of drinking on duty after two apparently drunk Hanover Park healthcare workers were...
Gauteng Health accelerates hospital upgrades and new builds
Plans for a brand new academic hospital in Gauteng are being advanced, says the Gauteng Department of Health, as are those for a 300-bed...
Tygerberg Hospital upgrade a step closer
The much needed – and long-talked about – redevelopment of Tygerberg Hospital is one of the Western Cape’s “mega-builds for future infrastructure and a...
Gauteng EMS staff in overtime dispute
Claims that Gauteng EMS staff were suspended for refusing to work overtime with extra pay have been denied by the Department of Health, reports...
Private health sector still losing billions to fraud and waste
South Africa’s private health sector is continuing to be bled dry by thieves and cheats, with an eye-watering R30bn lost to fraud, waste and...
Diabetes deaths, especially among women, on the rise
The scourge of diabetes shows no sign of waning in South Africa, with the latest Stats SA Mortality Report revealing that the disease accounted for...
UJ hits the road with new mobile eye clinic
The University of Johannesburg (UJ), in partnership with the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT), has launched a R2.5m mobile optometry clinic to take...
Alleged boss of global healthcare hacker group arrested
Dutch authorities have arrested an alleged leader of ShinyHunters, the cybercriminal group that has targeted global healthcare organisations and their third-party vendors – and which also...