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News Update
SA and UK labs team up to boost genomic surveillance
A Stellenbosch University laboratory is collaborating with one in Britain to keep the focus on genomic surveillance globally as the Covid-19 emergency recedes.
Both were...
Measles warning in Europe as cases surge 30-fold
The World Health Organisation has issued an urgent warning over measles after an “alarming” 30-fold rise in cases across Europe, with 30 000 cases reported...
GP found dead before trial sentencing
An Eastern Cape doctor, 54 – previously found guilty of shooting and wounding a male friend in 2019, and who was due to sentenced...
Covid lessons could prepare world for ‘Disease X’
Had earlier information been acted upon, Covid vaccine development might have been initiated faster, say some experts, after documents released last week showed that...
Spike in Covid cases as Zambia battles cholera outbreak
Deleted: While still battling to control a massive cholera outbreak, Zambia has also activated Covid-19 monitoring systems after registering an increase in new cases,...
Cameroon first to launch ‘routine’ malaria jab project
Cameroon has launched the world’s first routine malaria vaccine programme, which is expected to save tens of thousands of children’s lives per year across...
Call for 'watershed' Surgeon-General's report on vaping
Public health experts say a US Surgeon-General report – similar to one issued 60 years ago that settled a longstanding public debate about cigarettes...
British fatalities in Spain prompt call for inquiry into painkiller
There have been growing calls for a comprehensive national study in Spain to establish the adverse side-effects of the controversial painkiller metamizole, linked to...
CRISPR treatment now approved for beta thalassemia
The CRISPR-based medicine Casgevy, approved in December by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat sickle cell disease, has been given the green...
FDA approves AI device to check skin cancer
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised the first artificial intelligence-powered medical device to help doctors detect the most common forms of...
SA confirms cholera cases amid global resurgence
The WHO has classified the global resurgence of cholera as a grade 3 emergency, its highest internal health emergency level.
In South Africa, the two...
DA flags staff safety crisis at public hospitals and clinics
There have been more than 200 attacks on government hospital and clinic staff over the past two years – more than half of them...
Global manifesto calls for improved morphine access
A group of global, regional and national palliative care organisations has urged governments and regulators to end the practice of pharmaceutical companies marketing sustained-release...
Valproate treatment rules tightened over children's disorder risk
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued various precautionary measures governing treatment of male patients with valproate after concerns of a heightened risk for...
New 'more reliable' NHLS LDL-cholesterol calculation method
Clinicians rely heavily on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) – the main target for lipid-lowering therapies and preventing cardiovascular disease – and in randomised control...
Medical students tackle SA’s organ donation crisis
With 4 000 South Africans awaiting a life-saving organ transplant and 60 viable organs going to waste each week, a group of fourth year...
No causal link between suicidal thoughts and obesity meds – FDA
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says its preliminary review of reports related to suicidal thoughts or actions in patients treated with glucagon-like...
UK regulators scrap new sickle cell drug
The decision by British regulators to end the roll-out of a medication launched in 2022 – the first new drug in 20 years to...
New drug-making standards set for Indian firms
The Indian Government has notified pharmaceutical companies that they must meet new manufacturing standards this year, after a string of deaths linked to Indian-made...
Forensic pathology staff protest conditions
Health workers at Rustenburg’s Forensic Pathology Unit downed tools at the beginning of this week, saying their health was at risk due to the...
WHO needs $1.5bn for health crises, mainly in Africa
The World Health Organisation will need $1.5bn this year for 41 health emergencies resulting from climate change, extreme weather events, food insecurity, conflict and...
Cape Verde reaches malaria-free milestone
Cape Verde has been declared malaria-free for the first time in 50 years, after not having reported a single case of local transmission in...
Nurse shortage critical in SA amid 'global health emergency'
Netcare has again warned that the healthcare system's heavy reliance on a nursing workforce mostly older than 50, and with few new nurses being...
No funds to hire newly qualified doctors in SA – union
South Africa, already battling a shortage of medical personnel at government hospitals, hasn’t hired more than 800 qualified doctors for public-health posts because of...
HIV now at two-decade low for pregnant women
HIV prevalence among pregnant women attending government clinics in SA fell to 27.5% in 2022, reaching its lowest level in two decades, according to...
SAHPRA flags fatal error linked to IV tranexamic acid
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has issued a warning related to several cases worldwide where tranexamic acid has been administered intrathecally...
Union seeks more answers on HPCSA suspensions
The SA Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) says it has had no positive feedback on the wrongful suspension of healthcare practitioners by the Health...
Menopausal relief drug meets late-stage trial goal
German drugmaker Bayer said this week that its new menopausal relief drug candidate elinzanetant met the main goal in two phase 3 trials of...
First-in-Africa antifungal-resistant ringworm detected in KZN
A first confirmed case of antifungal-resistant ringworm has been recorded in KwaZulu-Natal, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed, saying two people were...
SAHPRA withdraws fungus-triggering lubricant
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has recalled the Lubri-A sterile lubricating jelly after 380 patients contracted a yeast-like fungus from the product,...
Watchdog flags concerns over R20m Limpopo Health tender
Further accusations of irregularities in the awarding of multimillion-rand coal tenders have been levelled against Limpopo’s Health Department, with detractors alleging the process flawed...
North-West University launches new medical school
South Africa will be welcoming a new medical school after North-West University (NWU) received approval from Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla for an innovative...
GP hits back against surgeons' butt lifts criticism
A Pretoria GP who performs liposuction and Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) on patients has slammed critics accusing her of not being authorised to carry...
Canada to legalise assisted suicide for mental illness
A new law due to take effect in March has divided citizens of Canada, which already has one of the most liberal assisted death...
Drugs approved by FDA in 2023
Each year, the US Food & Drug Administration’s Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) approves a wide range of new drugs and biological...
Measles cases and deaths still rising worldwide
With measles cases continuing to increase worldwide – despite it being 60 years since the first vaccine against the disease was licensed for public...
Label updates for anti-nausea jab products – FDA
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an alert regarding labelling updates intended to further reduce the risk of severe chemical irritation...
HRC defends TikTok ‘Dr Lani’ over ARVs access
Fake TikTok “doctor” Matthew Lani, who made headlines last year after being unveiled as an imposter with no medical degree, has claimed he was...
Stricter screening call after deaths and TB from contaminated bone grafts
The US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) says there is an urgent need to improve donor screening and product testing, after contaminated...
Woman with double uterus delivers twin girls on different days
A woman from Alabama, who was born with two uteruses and became pregnant in both, gave birth to twin girls on different days –...