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News Update
Vaccinations not reaching those in need
While most babies get their first measles vaccination, many miss the second dose as mums struggle to reach far off clinics in the Eastern...
New ‘pregnancy grant’ would reduce SA’s maternal mortality rate
Extending the child support grant to pregnant mothers could help reduce SA’s ‘astonishingly high’ maternal mortality rate. The Times reports that this is according...
Overweight women more at risk of ovarian cancer
Putting on weight can increase women’s risk of ovarian cancer, according to a new assessment of the evidence. The Guardian reports that in the...
Excess weight and obsesity
Excess weight and obesity also cause one in eight admissions to British hospitals of women over 50, reports The Guardian. The figures come from...
Scarlet fever cases in the UK reach a 24-year high
The number of scarlet fever cases in the UK has reached a 24-year high. The Independent reports that according to Public Health England, between...
SAHR getsex-MEC’s report on Mpumalanga’s health woes
A report to the South African Human Rights Commission SAHRC) on the state of health services in rural Mpumalanga found medical waste dumped near...
New UK guidelines on bariatric surgery for diabetes patients
More than 800,000 additional people in the UK could be considered for gastric bands or other surgery to restrict their eating under fresh NHS...
‘Appropriate’ counselling and guidance techniques for Africa
Counselling and guidance techniques developed in the West may not be appropriate for many African countries, where cultural influences, government policies and the availability...
Large Cape Town study challenges ART assumptions
A large-scale SA study on patients infected with both HIV and tuberculosis (TB,) has implications for treatment policy in low-income nations. The study, by...
Disappointment after ‘cured’ baby tests positive for HIV
The US girl born with HIV who was believed cured after aggressive early treatment has tested positive for the virus, a disappointing setback for...
New device screens for HIV among Mozambique infants
Alere Inc has announced a study demonstrating the viability of accurate and rapid HIV screening among 827 infants at the point of care (POC),...
SA’s drug-resistant TB burden
Despite an increase in diagnosis times, SA is facing a growing drug-resistant tuberculosis burden as nationally there remains a large gap between the number...
Summit discussing efforts to reduce salt intake in SA
Stokes, hypertension and other lifestyle diseases are under discussion at a summit, attended by food industry leaders and health authorities, to discuss efforts to...
The fatty foods debate
British National Health Service guidelines – which advise cutting down on fatty foods like butter, cream and chocolate – may be putting the public...
HPV vaccination offers significant protection against cervical cancer
After analysing data from the first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme in Australia, researchers have found that the vaccine offers significant protection against cervical...
HIV in the SANDF
For the second time in 13 years the United States President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) has come to the fore with funds...
Old statistics derailing treatment and control of cancer
Cancer statistics nearly a decade old could derail control of the disease, with case numbers to almost double in the next 10 years. A...
SA healthcare workers facing major gaps in workplace protection
A large-scale survey of SA healthcare workers has revealed major gaps in workplace protection against tuberculosis, HIV and hepatitis, reports News-Medical. University of British...
Africa’s attempts to treat and prevent NCDs showcased
Royal Philips’ latest Fabric of Africa Trends Report called Facing the Future: Tackling Non-Communicable Diseases in Africa, showcases recent successes made by countries in...
Medicines made in India trigger US safety worries
India, the second-largest exporter of over-the-counter and prescription drugs to the United States, is coming under increased scrutiny by American regulators for safety lapses,...
SA teenager benefits from compassionate supply of drug
A potentially life-saving drug has breathed new life into a teenage girl suffering from a rare lung disease, reports The Times. Jenna Lowe, diagnosed...
Artificial heart patient dies
The first patient fitted with an artificial heart made by the French company Carmat has died, the hospital that had performed the transplant in...
Alzheimer’s deaths in the US higher than previously thought
A new study suggests that about half a million elderly Americans died from Alzheimer’s disease in 2010, an annual figure many times higher than...
Global warming could free disease-causing viruses
The discovery of an infectious giant virus that had been entombed in Siberian permafrost for 30,000 years has led scientists to warn of other...