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News Update
Approval at last for Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug
After decades of trying to develop a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, and several hiccups along the way, Eli Lilly has finally won FDA approval...
Tembisa Hospital CEO ‘irregularly appointed’, Public Protecter finds
The Public Protector has found that Gauteng Health Department (GDoH) officials acted irregularly during the recruitment and selection process of the late Ashley Mthunzi...
New Free State Premier rebukes staff in surprise hospital visit
Newly elected Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae, who unexpectedly dropped in at local hospitals last week to inspect conditions and address grievances from patients, was...
Clicks to sell Unicorn after court ruling
The Clicks Group will sell Unicorn Pharmaceuticals, it said on Monday, clearing the way for the Health Ministry to issue the company with licences...
New Eastern Cape Health MEC vows to fix distressed hospitals
East London’s Frere Hospital has a drastic shortage not just of 18 midwives and nurses but also of beds in its maternity section, which...
More than 800 interns placed by Health Department
The Department of Health has finally placed almost 900 medical interns on the mid-year cycle after they were unable to be allocated space during...
Discovery gap cover maternity ad ‘misleading’, says regulator
Discovery must withdraw an ad offering maternity benefits on gap cover, described by the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) as “misleading” because it did not...
WHO suggests therapeutic HPV jabs to scale up vaccination
While a vaccine already exists to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer, more than 20 therapeutic HPV vaccine candidates are...
CDC updates age criteria for RSV jabs
The US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention has narrowed its recommendation for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines in older adults this year –...
Pandemic treaty talks extended for a year
Talks to finalise a global pandemic agreement have been extended, with the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) picking up discussions again from 16 July at...
Isle pharmacies get go-ahead to supply medicinal cannabis
The self-governing Isle of Man is to expand its medicinal cannabis dispensing service to more pharmacies after a trial last year “built confidence in...
Gay men in US can finally give blood
Despite being a volunteer with the American Red Cross for a decade, it wasn’t until last year that Ralph Galvan, as a gay man, was...
Lauren Dickason gets 18 years for daughters’ murders
Pretoria expat and former doctor Lauren Dickason was handed a sentence of 18 years for the murder of her three daughters, with the High...
SA’s insulin pens supply dries up as weight-loss drugs take priority
South Africa has run out of the human insulin pens for people with diabetes as the global pharmaceutical industry shifts production priorities to blockbuster...
Recall of HPCSA president not enough, says union
The Medical and Dental Professions Board (MDPB) has reportedly recalled Simon Nemutandani, president of the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) – meaning he is...
Key health service units targeted by hackers
Despite an attempted ransomware attack on the the internal and external IT systems of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) this weekend, all patient...
HPV one-dose jab campaign to now include private schools
The Department of Health has announced that it is moving from a two-dose to a single-dose HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine regimen and that...
Failed foreign-trained doctors challenge exam results
A group of around 250 junior foreign-trained doctors – 70% of whom failed their board exams – say they have found discrepancies in their...
New antibiotics vital to combat AMR – WHO
The WHO has reiterated the urgent need for new antibiotics, saying the number of antibacterial agents in preclinical and clinical development worldwide increased from...
Local drugmakers must move to top of registration queue – SAHPRA
In a plan that would have significant implications for the local pharmaceutical industry, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) wants to initiate a...
WHO warning on fake diabetes, weight loss drugs
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a medical product alert on fake semaglutides – used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity –...
Millionaire patient leaves Sydney GP most of his fortune
An Australian doctor has become millions of dollars richer after being written into the will of a patient as the main beneficiary, despite the...
Nurse accused of murder had paid towards funeral
An Alberton nurse and her gardener have appeared in court charged with murder and fraud linked to a R6m insurance payout after the death...
Psychiatric patient dies in Tshwane hospital blaze
A 35-year-old patient, who had been placed in seclusion at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital’s female psychiatric unit, died when a fire broke out...
Bogus doctor arrested at Gauteng hospital
A woman who posed as a doctor at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital has been arrested and is due to appear in court, according to...
HPCSA boss accused of blowing thousands on sushi, shopping and Ubers
Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) president Simon Nemutandani, who already faces a disciplinary hearing for another matter, has been accused of spending more than R122 000...
Life Healthcare pivots from admissions to early diagnosis
Life Healthcare will be focusing on diagnostics and healthcare services as clinical admissions bottom out, and expanding its capacity to check for early signs...
Donated mpox jabs arriving soon – Phaahla
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla says doses of the mpox vaccine will be arriving soon for free distribution at clinics – this after South...
Halve cabinet in order to hire health workers, SAMA urges Ramaphosa
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) said that if President Cyril Ramaphosa were to slash the size of his cabinet, the money saved could...
NHS warns 100,000 Scottish patients of health data hack
More than 100,000 NHS patients in the Dumfries and Galloway region of southern Scotland have been warned to assume some of their patient data...
Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug a step closer to final FDA nod
A committee of independent advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously last week that the benefits outweigh the risks of the...
US surgeon general wants cigarette-style warnings on social media
The US surgeon general wants warning labels on social media platforms similar to those now mandatory on cigarette packs, saying social media is an...
Denmark recalls ' too spicy' noodles, cites ‘poisoning” risk
Danish officials have recalled three types of spicy noodles from a South Korean brand, warning that the flavours are too intense and might pose...
5 years on, no report on medical schemes’ racial bias inquiry
Five years after the start of an inquiry into alleged racial bias by medical schemes, there is still no final report.
The Council for Medical...
Unicef report warns that 25% of SA’s toddlers face severe food poverty
A report by the United Nations Children’s Agency Unicef shows that almost a quarter (23%) of South African children under five are at risk...
New long Covid definition proposed by US National Academies
America’s National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has proposed a new definition of long Covid – one requiring no lab confirmation or...
No toxicity traces in Benylin, says SA regulator
No traces of diethylene glycol had been detected in the two recalled batches of Benylin paediatric cough syrup, the South African Health Products Regulatory...
Gauteng pays millions for new drug rehab centre, defunds existing NPOs
Questions are being asked after the Gauteng Department of Social Development pushed through R11m in subsidies for a new drug rehab centre in the...
Protests at Eastern Cape hospital over doctor's transfer
Protests have erupted from hospital staff and the local community after a senior doctor, who has worked at Zithulele Hospital in the Eastern Cape...
SA records first mpox death
The country recorded its first death from mpox on Monday when a 37-year-old man died in Tembisa Hospital, with Health Minister Joe Phaahla saying...