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News Update
Three new mpox cases in Gauteng
Three more laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox have been detected in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, where three other cases were detected at the end of February, including...
Gauteng Health denies disease outbreak tied to maggots
The Gauteng Health Department has denied accusations of a disease outbreak in Pretoria North linked to maggots and staphylococcus infection – and claims on...
Trump plans to dump CDC’s HIV prevention division
The Trump administration is considering eliminating the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s division focused on HIV prevention and shifting its responsibilities to another...
New WHO guidance for global mental health policies
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued new guidance to help all countries reform and strengthen mental health policies and systems – most of...
Minister says SA will reach HIV treatment goals despite aid cuts
US President Donald Trump’s aid cuts will not derail SA’s goal of providing treatment to an additional 1.1m HIV patients by December, Health Minister...
Bid committee member joins firm awarded top SAPS health tender
A former decorated police brigadier who resigned three weeks before a R360m SAPS health services tender was awarded to Medicare24 Tswane – a little-known...
Waning immunity, low jab rate, trigger SA diphtheria cases
Over the past 14 months, South Africa has experienced its highest rise in diphtheria cases in 30 years, with doctors attributing this to waning...
Hand, foot and mouth disease cases surge in Eastern Cape
Cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) have risen to 78 in the Eastern Cape, with the provincial Department of Health saying most...
Limpopo family hires private investigator after son dies in hospital attack
A Limpopo family has employed a private detective to investigate the death of a man killed by a psychiatric patient at Philadelphia Hospital in...
Health Department says cannabis edibles ban will protect consumers
The National Department of Health has defended its decision this month to ban foodstuffs containing cannabis and hemp products, saying this was aimed at...
Global measles cases spread among the unvaccinated
The number of measles cases linked to an outbreak in Texas has grown to more than 300, with around 40 cases reported over the...
Nigeria Lassa fever death toll now 100
Nigeria has recorded 29 new Lassa fever infections and five deaths in one week, bringing the total fatalities recorded in 2025 to 100, according...
NHS applies brakes to overseas nurses, doctors
Nearly half of the doctors employed by NHS England are non-British, while a quarter of the declining nurse numbers come from other countries, with...
First AI skin cancer detector approved in Europe
The world’s first autonomous AI system for skin cancer detection, DERM, has received Class III CE marking in Europe, achieving 99.8% accuracy in ruling out cancer...
RFK Jr moves to ban artificial dyes in food
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr wants to end a long-standing programme allowing companies to include new additives – and...
Harvard doctors sue Trump for removing articles mentioning LGBTQ
Two Harvard Medical School doctors have launched a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's removal of articles about their research from a government-run website focused...
No clinic in 30 years for Limpopo village
A village in Limpopo’s Vhembe district has had no clinic for 30 years and appears unlikely to be getting one any time soon –...
New African Epidemic Fund will boost efficiency, responses – CDC
The African Epidemic Fund is now operational on the continent, providing the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) with flexible funding to...
New daily endometriosis pill for NHS England patients
England’s NHS will soon be offering patients the first-of-its-kind pill for endometriosis, the combination drug, relugolix–estradiol–norethisterone (also known as relugolix combination therapy or Ryeqo),...
WHO trims staff contracts amid cost-cutting measures
In efforts to ensure its survival after the withdrawal of the United States, the World Health Organisation has announced a one-year limit on staff...
Vital leprosy drugs arrive in Nigeria after year-long delay
After waiting for more than a year, Nigerians with leprosy will finally be able to obtain critical drugs to treat the disease, which were...
No extra funding in Budget for Pepfar gaps
Health funding took a back seat in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's Budget yesterday, with little mention of the National Health Insurance or any allocations...
Minister in talks with funders to address funding shortfalls
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said talks had begun with local and international foundations on funding to fill the budget shortfall in its HIV/Aids treatment...
Helen Joseph Hospital woes symptom of a bigger problem
The findings of an investigation by the Health Ombudsman into conditions at the Helen Joseph Hospital have confirmed some allegations by former broadcaster Thomas...
Gauteng Health teetering under financial strain
A health worker has described a “point of no return” in Gauteng’s public health services as prolonged freezing of posts and the potential loss...
Provinces owe billions to struggling National Health Laboratory Service
The National Health Laboratory Service is owed R8.9bn in unpaid accounts by various provinces – while also battling staff shortages and huge backlogs in...
Scrap private healthcare tariff plan, government urged
The government’s proposal for a collective bargaining scheme for private healthcare providers has been described as flawed and unworkable, with calls for the plan...
No bail for male nurse charged with raping teen patient
A male nurse from Ekurhuleni has been denied bail after being accused of raping a 17-year-old patient and sexually assaulting a 19-year-old man.
He told...
Teen footballer dies after being turned away from clinic
The family of Katlego Ledwaba (16) and members of his football club in Zebediela, Limpopo, are blaming nurses at the local clinic for his...
SAMRC joint report calls for coal-power phase out
The SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has called for coal-fired power stations to be phased out, after the release of a 10-year study finding...
WHO probes causes of DRC mystery illness
An ongoing investigation into an unexplained illness cluster in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) province of Equateur suggests chemical poisoning or rapid-onset bacterial...
eSwatini’s snakebite success on shaky ground as US funding ends
Remarkable progress against snakebite in eSwatini has been abruptly curtailed by the Trump administration’s funding cuts to US foreign aid, and the closure of...
MS patients in England in line for take-at-home pill
Thousands of NHS patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in England are to become the first in Europe to benefit from a major roll-out of...
Nurses ignore teen mum who gives birth to twins alone
An Ekurhuleni hospital has denied ignoring the pleas for help from a 15-year-old girl who gave birth to twins on her own. Neither of...
US state wins lawsuit against China for hiding knowledge about Covid
China had deliberately concealed knowledge of the emerging coronavirus in the pandemic’s crucial early days and used the extra time to stockpile protective equipment,...
Snake invasion closes Hillcrest clinic
Multiple snake sightings – including of a black mamba – at a clinic in Ngcolosi, near Hillcrest, have raised safety concerns and forced it...
Fed-up foreign doctors embark on hunger strike in France
Hundreds of medical staff with non-EU diplomas have started a three-day hunger strike in France to protest against how they are being treated, and...
Screening for anal cancer – SA’s most ignored disease – urgent
Despite South Africa’s status as home to the world’s largest population with HIV, the country has made no progress in addressing anal cancer screening...
Private hospitals take legal action against NHI Act
The Hospital Association of SA (Hasa) has asked the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to declare the National Health Insurance Act unconstitutional and unlawful and...
Government must take the lead, say scientists and activists
Scientists and healthcare activists have been unanimous in expressing frustration over government's slow response to the funding cuts, and in urging a rethink on...