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Mpox cases rise to 28 in SA
The National Health Department has announced that three new cases of mpox have been confirmed in South Africa – all from Ekurhuleni.
The first case,...
US Supreme Court unblocks Trump foreign funding freeze
Research and health projects stalled by the abrupt cutting off of US funding, may be in for a reprieve following the US Supreme Court...
Long-term strategy vital to combat cholera threat in Africa
Southern and eastern African countries are facing a resurgence of cholera, threatening worldwide progress toward eliminating the disease, a recent analysis has said.
The study,...
Rising global obesity presents 'unparalleled' health threat – Lancet report
Overweight and obesity rates in adults more than doubled between 1990 and 2021, and, warn experts, this is unlikely to change, with more than...
Girl (12) on ventilator in critical condition from vaping habit
A 12-year-old girl in Thailand who vaped for two years – without her parents’ knowledge – has been diagnosed with severe lung damage and...
Hand, foot and mouth disease spreads to East London
The Eastern Cape Department of Health has reported 13 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases in the Buffalo City metropolitan municipality,...
FDA green-lights rapid-acting insulin biosimilar product
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Merilog (insulin-aspart-szjj) as a biosimilar to Novolog (insulin aspart) for the improvement of glycaemic control...
Who will plug the US funding gap?
With reality setting in – that the United States is drastically diminishing its foreign assistance to developing countries – an urgent conversation is starting among...
Trump’s aid cuts halt crucial SA-led HIV vaccine trials
Critical South African-led HIV research, the outcome of which could affect millions of people worldwide, has been stopped in its tracks at a vital...
Landmark deal jumpstarts Africa’s vaccine production
In a deal inked in Cairo last week and backed by a $1.2bn investment from Gavi, the vaccine alliance, an end-to-end mRNA vaccine production platform...
Grade 3 girl dies after eating toxic chips
A seven-year-old Brakpan girl has died from multiple organ failure, allegedly linked to a packet of chips contaminated with a deadly insecticide that was...
Union calls for HRC to probe into ‘human rights violations’ in KZN
The Public Servants Association (PSA) wants the Public Protector and the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to investigate a list of alleged health violations, including...
Hand, foot and mouth disease on the rise at Durban schools
The number of confirmed reports of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Durban schools has more than tripled in a week, with the...
125-year-old Eastern Cape hospital in dire straits
The shocking and dilapidated state of a rural Eastern Cape hospital that was built in 1900 led to angry locals protesting outside the facility...
UK to slash funding contribution to Gavi
The prediction that Britain is likely to cut funding to global vaccination group Gavi – which has inoculated more than 1bn children in developing...
SA veering off course in diabetes management
Roughly 60 000 South Africans die annually – before they turn 70 – from diseases that are not caused by an infection like tuberculosis...
Global shortage of oxygen a growing concern, say experts
Oxygen is vital to many medical procedures. But a safe, affordable supply is severely lacking around the world, according to a new report.
At the...
Still no CEOs for Eastern Cape hospitals
Eastern Cape Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa has failed to appoint CEOs for major state hospitals within the first six months of her term, as...
Union accuses Umlazi hospital of human rights abuses
The Public Servant’s Association (PSA) has called on the Human Rights Commission to intervene in a crisis at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in Umlazi,...
Gauteng hospitals postpone elective surgeries
A number of state hospitals in Gauteng have put elective surgeries on the back burner until the next financial year, but this will only...
Pietermaritzburg ambulance shortage at crisis point
A chronic shortage of state ambulances in Pietermaritzburg means critically ill patients are being left stranded and paramedics are fearing for their lives, with...
Medical profession alarmed by Kennedy’s racist theories
President Donald Trump’s choice of Robert F Kennedy to become America’s leading health official has caused consternation.
His theory, for instance, that black people have...
Concern as Guillain-Barre syndrome cases rise in India
A six-year old boy is among around 160 reported cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) since early January in Pune, India.
GBS, a rare disorder where...
Mitral clip implant first for Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital has become the first government health facility in Gauteng to perform the MitraClip implant, a procedure designed to treat...
Unemployed doctors call for firing of Finance Minister
Fed-up and desperate unemployed health graduates are calling for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s head, saying he should be fired for his failure to increase...
Gauteng cancer patients still awaiting lifesaving treatment
Thousands of cancer patients – and advocacy groups – in Gauteng are still waiting in vain for news about treatment, despite the provincial Health...
Gauteng’s compulsory teen contraception slammed as 'unlawful'
A plan by Gauteng Health & Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko to roll out compulsory contraceptive implants for schoolgirls across the province has run into...
Frustrated locals shut down ‘decaying’ Limpopo clinic
Fed up with a lack of action from Limpopo’s Health Department, which has been accused of not taking the community seriously, angry residents barricaded...
Lung cancer increasing among non-smokers, WHO warns
Being a non- or never-smoker appears to provide little protection against the ravages of cancer nowadays, with an increasing proportion of people being diagnosed...
Effects of Japan's 'public co-operation' approach to Covid pandemic
During the chaos that was the Covid-19 pandemic, and in contrast to the lockdowns imposed in many countries, Japanese authorities issued health advisories and...
Trump’s funding freeze threatens to paralyse SA NGOs
South African NGOs are already feeling the squeeze as US President Donald Trump’s planned suspension of all foreign development assistance begins to take effect,...
Medical aids turn to court in long-running battle for low cost options
The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) will go to court in efforts to legally compel the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to allow cheaper...
SAMA writes to President as more jobless doctors protest
A group of 150 or so unemployed KwaZulu-Natal doctors staged a sit-in outside the provincial Health Department’s headquarters in Pietermaritzburg on Monday, warning that...
NICD issues diphtheria alert
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has issued an alert on respiratory diphtheria, which it says has been present since 2024, particularly in...
Moderna gets millions for mRNA jab against future pandemics
In the final days of the Biden administration, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $590m to Moderna to expedite development...
EU plan to ban ‘forever chemicals’ in consumer products
The European Commission wants to ban PFAS – “forever chemicals” – in consumer products, with exemptions for essential industrial uses, although the agency admits...
Antibiotic for MDR-TB halves risk – SA, Vietnamese trial
Two recent simultaneous trials – one conducted in South Africa among children, the other involving Vietnamese adults – found that levofloxacin reduced the risk of...
Watchdog alert over FDA’s fast-track drug approvals
A new report from the US Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General has raised concerns about the FDA’s accelerated approval...
KZN Health to insource vital services
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli has announced that various services – like security, cleaning, kitchen work and gardening – will now be insourced at all...
WHO launches $1.5bn plea for global health crises
An urgent appeal has been issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which needs funds to support global lifesaving interventions to tackle unparalleled health...