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News Update
Experts call for urgent midwife training as poor nursing costs state millions
There is an urgent need for midwifery training in South Africa, and for a retraining of midwifery educators, say experts after a study on...
More doctors employed in 2023 than last year – Phaahla
Questioned about the shortage of doctors and placements for graduates, among other issues, Health Minister Joe Phaahla told Parliament last week that almost 4...
Scientists call for HIV+ donors for bone marrow transplants
In South Africa, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer every 72 minutes – but because of the lack of bone marrow transplant donors, scientists...
FDA warns about probiotics use for pre-term infants
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a general warning and a specific warning letter about the use of probiotics for pre-term...
Experts link Malawi scabies outbreak to climate crisis
Months after a cholera outbreak killed more than 1 800 people and affected nearly 60 000 in Malawi, the country is fighting a resurgence...
Zimbabwe cholera outbreak worsens
Measures have been announced to try to contain the spread of cholera in Zimbabwe, which has killed more than 100 and infected 5 000...
FDA warns of toxic eye drops, possible blindness
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings for 26 over-the-counter eye care products, saying there’s a potential for infection that could lead...
New Covid variant dominates in US
A new Covid variant called HV.1 has replaced the EG.5 strain in the US, becoming the country’s most prevalent last week, according to data released by...
Pig-heart transplant patient dies
The US man who had received a new heart from a genetically modified pig nearly six week ago died on Monday, University of Maryland...
Warning about fake weight loss medication pens
Britain’s medicines regulator has issued a warning about fake and harmful weight loss pens after seizing hundreds of devices sold by illegal traders, which...
UK health ombud flags high sepsis death rate
There are still too many people dying from sepsis due to "the same mistakes” highlighted more than a decade ago, Britain’s health ombudsman has...
First special needs dental care unit opens in Cape Town
A dedicated and specialised paediatric and special needs dental unit has been opened in the Cape – the first in the country – thanks...
SA health info system linking patient records grows
Since its launch in April last year, South Africa’s first industrywide health information exchange CareConnect has signed up 5.2m patients, said the non-profit, and...
New Discovery Health apps frustrating, say users
Several innovative new services were recently launched by Discovery app, enabling 24/7 virtual consultations with doctors, and medication delivery, as well as immediate help...
J&J drops price of lifesaver TB drug
After unprecedented intervention by the Competition Commission and an outcry over Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) alleged bullying tactics over the price of key medicines,...
Deputy Health Minister accused of sexual assault
A parliamentary staff member has accused Deputy Health Minister Sibongiseni Dhlomo of sexual assault, claiming the incident took place last month at the Minister’s...
Shrinking proportion of South Africans on medical aid
The number of South Africans belonging to medical schemes overshot the 9m mark for the first time in 2022, but rapid population growth means...
The only MRI machine at Mthatha hospital is broken
A broken MRI machine at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, has resulted in patients waiting more than six months for...
Chronic diseases on the rise, warns Stats SA
Stats SA has warned that deaths from chronic medical conditions have increased, its latest report showing that mortality linked to cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes...
WHO releases AMR guidelines
The World Health Organisation has released a package of 13 interventions to guide prioritisation when developing, implementing and monitoring action plans on antimicrobial resistance...
Gauteng MEC reviews ‘irregular’ appointments
Two senior appointments are being reviewed by the Gauteng Department of Health after recommendations by the Public Service Commission (PSC), which found them to...
IP clause sows division over WHO's draft pandemic accord
The draft pandemic accord sent to WHO member states by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) last week was met with mixed reaction, being welcomed...
Pollen level warning to Cape allergy sufferers
The pollen count in Cape Town is currently at a “potentially very dangerous level”, with the University of Cape Town’s Lung Institute Allergy and...
Gaza hospitals run out of medicines
Patients are having surgery without anaesthetic in Gaza because supplies are so low, the WHO said last week, announcing that its own warehouse of...
Call for menopause checks for women over 40
Women should be offered a “menopause health check” by GPs at 40, Britain’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Menopause said last week, suggesting that the...
WHO issues AI regulatory list
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a new publication listing key regulatory considerations on artificial intelligence (AI) for health.
The publication emphasises the importance...
UK regulator clamps down on unproven fertility treatment ‘add-ons’
Fertility treatment “add-ons” offered to patients in the UK do not always improve their chances of having a baby, according to a new ratings...
Pig-heart transplant man making progress
The second person to have received a transplanted heart from a pig is recovering steadily, according to the patient’s medical team at the University...
Pay back the money, court orders woman who faked cancer
An American woman who faked her cancer diagnosis – to get her family’s attention – and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars via fund-me social...
SA doctors still earning 2012 salaries
Doctors are still earning roughly what they earned in 2012 and 2013 – 13% below the expected income levels for their profession, due to...
Global analysis predicts 10m annual stroke deaths by 2050
A recently published report has suggested that by 2050, deaths from stroke could jump to 9.7m a year globally, a massive jump from 2020’s 6.6m deaths,...
Limpopo MEC slams high-flying leaders seeking foreign healthcare
Straight-talking Limpopo health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba blasted African political leaders’ habit of seeking international healthcare while leaving a collapsing system they could have...
Lancet launches major ‘spillover’ probe after bird flu deaths
In efforts to prevent another pandemic, The Lancet has launched a major scientific push to better understand how dangerous pathogens jump from animals to...
CBD recommended dosage slashed by UK regulators
In a surprise reversal of previous official guidance, and citing a risk of liver damage and thyroid issues, British regulators have reduced the recommended...
Down’s families’ fight for access to Alzheimer’s trials, treatments
While advocacy groups and families of people with Down syndrome are lobbying for their inclusion in drug trials for Alzheimer’s – the most common...
Minister open to talk about nurses' uniform change
Health Minister Joe Phaahla has said the department remains “open to engage” on the issue of uniform regulations for staff, including the thorny topic...
Health staff threatened with suspension for not disclosing financial interests
At least 60% of Gauteng’s doctors, nurses and other medical workers face suspension for not disclosing their financial interests under Health Department policies meant...
Discovery stalwart Ryan Noach resigns
Discovery Health CEO Ryan Noach has resigned with effect from 31 December this year, the financial services group said last week, and is to...
More cases of rubella likely this year: NICD
Rubella cases have been on the rise in the Western Cape since September (week 36), the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said, and...
Life sentence for Gqeberha physiotherapist's killer
It will be life behind bars for the man who killed a Gqeberha physiotherapist on 9 August and pleaded guilty in the Eastern Cape...