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News Update
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 –...
Captured paramedic Gerco van Deventer back home
South African paramedic Gerco van Deventer, taken hostage in Libya six years ago and then sold to Al-Qaeda militants, is back home in Swellendam...
EU watchdog blocks GSK blood cancer drug approval
Europe’s health regulator stuck to its recommendation not to renew conditional approval for GSK’s blood cancer drug Blenrep last month, citing data that did...
FDA approves chronic skin disease drug
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to a drug to treat the skin condition seborrheic dermatitis in patients...
New lawyers for men accused of assassinating Babita Deokaran
The six men charged with Babita Deokaran’s murder made another appearance in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) last week, when their previous attorney withdrew...
SAHPRA issues warning about fake Ozempic
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has said it is aware of fake Ozempic products being sold on the market and online,...
TB death rate still unacceptably high – Minister
TB remained a pressing concern for South Africa, with an estimated 300 000 South Africans getting the disease every year, Deputy Health Minister Sibongiseni...
New ‘life-changing’ breast cancer drug gets NHS nod
A new breast cancer drug, one of four cancer treatments approved for use by NHS Scotland, will give “life-changing hope” to breast cancer patients,...
$1bn plan for African vaccine manufacturing
As part of a new initiative from Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, up to $1bn will be made available to boost African vaccine manufacturing...
FDA approves sickle cell treatment but obstacles remain
The US Food and Drug Administration gave the green light last week to the first gene editing therapy to be used in humans –...
Start counselling for obese children from age six – US panel
Children with obesity should receive intensive counselling to promote healthy diet and exercise habits from the age of six, a panel of US experts...
UK’s new menopause guidance ‘belittling and harmful’
Britain’s new official guidance on treating menopause will harm women’s health, experts and campaigners have warned, accusing the draft guidelines of being “patronising” and “scaremongering”.
Released last...
SA’s male murder statistics a health crisis, says SAMRC
The South African Medical Research Council says an urgent national response is needed to probe the high murder rate of men – 87% –...
Private hospital admissions soar in UK as NHS takes strain
Britain’s private hospitals saw record admissions this year after hundreds of thousands of people sought care through their insurance amid rocketing NHS waiting lists.
Between January and June, 443 000 private...
WHO warns that world could lose malaria fight as cases rise
A new report from WHO says the world risks lose the fight against malaria, as cases rose by around 5m year-on-year in 2022, exceeding...
US commission warns about toys’ magnets after children’s deaths
Magnets from children’s toys have been linked to seven deaths after being ingested, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned, announcing one company’s...
Record 10 000 research papers retracted in 2023
The number of retractions issued for research articles in 2023 has passed 10 000 – smashing annual records – as publishers struggle to clean...