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News Update
Sierra Leone declares mpox emergency
A state of emergency was declared in Sierra Leone on Monday after the country reported its second case of mpox in less than four...
Ukraine bans organ harvesting from war casualties
The Ukrainian Parliament passed legislation last week prohibiting organ harvesting from military and civilian casualties of Russia’s invasion, the measure receiving broad support from...
Risks and benefits of human genome editing unpacked in Australian study
Scientists know about tens of thousands of DNA variants that are associated with human diseases. On their own, the vast majority of these variants...
Virus outbreak in China no mystery and not new, say SA experts
There is no need to panic over the respiratory virus outbreak in China that has stirred public concerns, according to South African experts and...
Tembisa Hospital tender tycoon landed R360m SAPS contract
Investigations have revealed that security boss and Tembisa Hospital tenderpreneur Vusimuzi Matlala, whose home and office were raided by police last week apparently in...
Blockbuster diabetic drug now in SA
Aspen Pharmacare has announced the local availability of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, marketed globally as Mounjaro.
Mounjaro, the once-weekly glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1...
Discovery mulls SCA appeal after RAF medical costs ruling
The Gauteng High Court dismissal with costs last month of Discovery Health’s application for an order declaring the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to be...
Security staff suspended for dragging patient along hospital floor
The Western Cape Health Department has suspended two security guards who were filmed dragging a patient out of Karl Bremer Hospital, with Chief Operating...
State medical aid premiums now unaffordable, claims PSA
The Public Servants Association (PSA) has had a deluge of calls from anxious union members after the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) membership subscription...
Health Minister denies R300m spent on Cuban studies
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said funding students to study under the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Programme had cost his department only around R23m annually,...
State contracts without adequate funds unlawful, rules court
The Supreme Court of Appeal has slammed the continuing practice of government departments entering into contracts that exceed the amount appropriated for a particular...
Ramathuba threatens to sack staff over patient queues
Long waiting times at a Limpopo hospital saw Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba warning staff that failure to assist patients promptly would result in their...
First bird flu death reported in the US
A Louisiana man who had the first severe human case of bird flu in the US has died, local health officials reported this week...
Surgeon-General wants cancer warnings for alcohol
The US' top doctor has called for risk warnings on alcohol – similar to the labels on cigarettes – after new research flagging links...
NHS trials AI tool to predict diabetes risk
England’s NHS is launching a world-first trial of a transformative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can identify patients at risk of type 2 diabetes...
EPA warns of common chemical’s link to cancer
A recent investigation has found that formaldehyde causes more cancer than any other toxic air pollutant, exposing everyone to elevated risks of developing cancer no...
Small cost hikes on US drugs, but steeper launch prices
Although pharmaceutical companies in America pushed up the prices of at least 250 branded medications from 1 January, including Pfizer’s Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol...
Thai health tycoon wanted for multimillion fraud scam
Authorities in Thailand have begun seizing the assets of Boon Vanasin, or “Dr Boon”, the 86-year-old founder of Thonburi Healthcare Group, who is wanted...
Sharp climb in children's death from malnutrition
In the past two years alone, more than 1 000 children under five have died from hunger, with deaths in this age group generally...
No plans yet for NHI funding through taxes – Treasury
It will take years for the National Health Insurance (NHI) fund to be established, and even longer for the scheme to roll out services,...
Killer opioid fentanyl detected in SA drug users
Recent drug tests have found people at South African clinics testing positive for fentanyl – the potent opioid causing tens of thousands of deaths...
Limited batch of Panado syrup recalled
Adcock Ingram has launched a recall to SA distributors of a batch of Panado Paediatric alcohol-free grape-flavoured syrup, due to “precipitation” detected in the...
Dodgy R836m oxygen plants deal cancelled
The National Department of Health is pulling the plug on the R836m project to install oxygen plants at 55 government hospitals, telling the Independent...
Call for Northern Cape Health boss to be fired
Political parties have called for Premier Zamani Saul to sack Dr Dion Theys, head of the Northern Cape Department of Health, after the High...
SA company poised to make key TB drug ingredients
Though several South African companies are producing HIV and TB medicines, the active ingredients that go into these medicines are usually imported from India...
Nobel winners speak out against Trump’s conspiracy-theorist health boss
More than 75 Nobel Prize winners have signed a letter urging senators not to confirm Robert F Kennedy Jr, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to...
UK regulator probes anti-depressants safety alerts after suicide link
The UK’s medicines regulator is reviewing dozens of safety alerts for 30 common antidepressants, it has been revealed, after the recent suicide of a...
Morocco produces Africa’s first mpox tests
In a first for Africa, a Moroccan company is filling orders for mpox tests as an outbreak continues in the Congo and neighbouring countries,...
US bans common carcinogenic chemicals
In a decision welcomed by environmentalists and health advocates, America’s Environmental Protection Agency has banned two solvents found in everyday products that can cause...
Zimbabwe’s sick turn to herbalists as system crumbles
Zimbabwe’s health system continues to deteriorate, with hospitals lacking medicine, equipment and staff, and with frustrated patients turning to herbalists as an alternative –...
UK man calls for guideline changes after near death linked to tooth extraction
A Welshman who survived two bouts of endocarditis after having a tooth pulled out – without prior antibiotic treatment – is calling for changes...
'Medical misogyny' behind inadequate care for UK women
Women and girls are enduring years of pain because their reproductive conditions are being dismissed due to “medical misogyny”, according to a damning UK...
WHO experts to probe mystery disease in DRC
Health experts have been deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo by the WHO to try to determine the cause of an undiagnosed disease...
UK bans daytime TV ads for ‘junk food’
In efforts to combat rising obesity in the country, particularly among youngsters, the British government is banning daytime TV adverts for sugary foods like...
Leadership issues at Gauteng Health raise concern
Criticism of leadership and governance at Gauteng Health is increasing as the department repeatedly makes headlines for questionable appointments. This unfolds alongside a damning...
Surgery backlogs balloon as billions slashed from budget
Surgical backlogs continue to rise countrywide, as reduced budgets and staffing shortages eat away at public healthcare capacity, and institutions and medical professionals feel...
Mashatile promises patients six-month supply of ARVs
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has announced that the government will provide HIV-positive patients with a six-month supply of antiretroviral (ARV) medication, a notable boost...
EMS staff probed for ambulance sabotage
The Mpumalanga Department of Health has confirmed that its own Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff appear to behind the sabotage of 24 of their...
Gauteng Health running out of money, says DA
Ever-increasing piles of unpaid suppliers’ invoices are compounding challenges at government hospitals, particularly in Gauteng, with risks to stocks of basics like needles and...
New healthcare scam flagged
Patients are urged to remain vigilant in the wake of a new scam in which fraudsters are disseminating alarming messages with fake test results,...