HomePublic Health
Public Health
Malaria cases in Gauteng tied to travel elsewhere, say experts
The surge in malaria cases in Gauteng this year was not caused by mosquito bites within the province, but rather, linked to people who...
Free State records two mpox cases
Two people in Sasolburg have tested positive for mpox, with health officials saying both infections are linked to the same source, reports The Citizen.
The...
Public Protector slams Eastern Cape Health
After an unannounced visit to two hospitals in the Eastern Cape, an irate Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka said the public health sector was...
Community Health Centre in the Cape reopens after deadly shootout
The Retreat Community Health Centre in Cape Town’s southern suburbs has reopened after a temporary lockdown last week triggered by a fatal shooting directly...
Judge sets aside HIV contracts and orders fresh bidding process
South Africa's biggest HIV drug tender has been set aside by the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), which found that the contracts awarded were unconstitutional...
NICD alert as SA diphtheria deaths pass 40
South Africa has recorded another death in a lab-confirmed diphtheria case, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases’ latest surveillance update, which says...
Gastro outbreak affects 500 in Tshwane, Makhanda
Unchlorinated water supplied by Tshwane’s Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works for three weeks resulted in at least 408 people, mostly toddlers under four, contracting gastrointestinal...
WCape incentives to reward communities for healthy lifestyle choices
An unusual incentive scheme is being trialled by the Western Cape Department of Health in which participants are rewarded for healthy choices like immunising...
Surgeries on hold as Mpumalanga hospital battles cooling crisis in heatwave
Critical issues with the cooling systems at the Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mpumalanga are resulting in surgical postponements and unnecessary delays in theatre procedures,...
Free State hospitals hit by rampant theft and crime
Relentless efforts by an organised network of serial thieves to steal critical equipment from Free State hospitals is forcing the already strained facilties to...
Another four mpox cases in SA
South Africa has recorded four new lab-confirmed mpox cases, bringing the cumulative national total to 26 cases since 1 January 2026, up from 22,...
Nigeria confirms first Ebola case
The Nigerian health ministry said a woman had been diagnosed with Ebola in the capital, Abuja, after travelling from Uganda, reports Sky News.
This is...
Measuring the success of SA’s HPV jab drive – a decade later
South Africa introduced the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV) in public schools in 2014, offering the jab to grade 4 girls aged nine and...
Omega-3 fatty acids could boost TB recovery – SA study
Although nearly 250 000 South Africans develop TB every year – and about 54 000 of them die from it – and the disease...
Progress against HIV in KwaZulu-Natal stalls, SA study finds
Recent alarming research shows that South Africa’s progress in tackling the Aids and HIV crisis has stalled in one of its most populous provinces,...
MPs flags Health Department’s stalled audit progress
The lack of consequence management in the National Department of Health for its complete lack of movement on its audit outcome for more than...
Bottlenecks, bed shortages for SA’s mental health patients
A psychiatry expert has warned that an acute lack of community-based resources and specialised beds is leaving South Africa’s public sector overstretched, reports IOL.
This...
New Vanderbijlpark clinic, EMS base, to boost local healthcare services
Vanderbijlpark residents in Gauteng will have expanded and improved access to primary healthcare services with last week’s opening of the new Johan Heyns Gateway...
Groote Schuur’s new ER/trauma centre open for business
The upgraded state-of-the-art R200m emergency and trauma centre at Groote Schuur Hospital – which will treat up to 4 500 patients a month –...
Public Protector seeks answer over Charlotte Maxeke Hospital repairs
More than five years after the massive fire engulfed parts of Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, the delayed repairs have still not been completed, much...
UN warns of thriving illicit medicines trade across central Africa
The United Nations issued another warning last week that central Africa could be facing a major public health threat from trafficked and illicit medicines,...
Gauteng Health boosts podiatric care to stem tide of disabilities
In efforts to reduce avoidable disabilities, amputations and complications linked to chronic conditions, the Gauteng Department of Health is beefing up access to podiatry...
Lifestyle choices driving cancer rates in younger people – global study
Experts looking at UK, US and Dutch data said they found “significant increases” in early onset cases of seven cancers, prompting warnings about lifestyle...
The generation raised on sugar rations – and what their health reveals 70 years later
From blood pressure to ageing, research suggests the first 1 000 days of sugar exposure could leave a decades-long mark on health, suggest scientists...
HPV vaccine reduces adverse pregnancy risks – Swedish study
A national case-control study from Sweden, published in The BMJ, has suggested that women vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) were significantly less likely to...
The case for universal hepatitis B birth dose vaccine in SA
For years, concerned health experts have been calling for South African children to be universally vaccinated against hepatitis B at birth: now, echoing that...
Commission issues deadline for Eastern Cape hospitals to resolve issues
Women who had just given birth in Eastern Cape hospitals had to sleep on cold floors and benches because of a bed shortage, the...
SAHPRA reminder on ACE inhibitor risks
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has issued an alert to healthcare professionals of the risk of angioedema during treatment with angiotensin-converting...
Health Department turns to Section 21 medicines amid shortage
While some desperate patients are turning to veterinarians for their epilepsy medicines as the national medicine shortage crisis reaches alarming levels, it turns out...
Gauteng EMS staff dispute continues
The row over Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff contracts and overtime is unresolved, with 21 people being charged and facing disciplinary action, reports...
Gauteng Health rejects hospital costs claim by family of burned toddler
A BackaBuddy campaign has already raised more than R700 000 for hospital bills for a little boy badly burned after falling into a bath...
Why SA should still make anti-HIV jab LEN locally
South Africa has shortlisted three local manufacturers to potentially make the six-monthly HIV prevention jab lenacapavir – but making it here will take time....
WHO says no to obesity drugs, surgery, for under-10s
Medicine and surgery are not the answer for overweight children, the World Health Organisation has said, releasing its first guidelines addressing the escalating obesity...
Children dying in pain because of palliative care neglect
A damning report from the World Health Organisation confirms what professionals already know – that South Africa’s health system is failing abysmally at providing...
Western Cape children caught in pesticide drift – SA-Swiss study
A two-year study involving 533 children in three agricultural areas of the Western Cape found that household pesticide use and pesticide spray drift were...
New strategy to target Africa’s declining vaccination rates
Africa has reached an important moment in its immunisation journey, with coverage not rising fast enough to keep pace with population growth; persistent inequities,...
Diabetes crisis calls for urgent new strategy
It’s now a matter of urgency that the alarming and growing number of diabetics in South Africa is tackled by authorities, and new, immediate...
More than R700m, and six years later, ‘state-of-the-art’ path lab still not ready
There is still no completion date for Johannesburg’s new forensic pathology lab, which remains an empty shell while the current facility – the condemned...
Probe after video suggests clinic nurses were inebriated
The Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness is investigating allegations of drinking on duty after two apparently drunk Hanover Park healthcare workers were...
Gauteng Health accelerates hospital upgrades and new builds
Plans for a brand new academic hospital in Gauteng are being advanced, says the Gauteng Department of Health, as are those for a 300-bed...