HomePublic Health
Public Health
Shingles jab may also protect the brain, help ward off dementia
Could a shingles vaccine, which is now available in South Africa, also fight dementia? The evidence appears to be positive, writes Linda Nordling for...
Mental and general health strongly tied to loneliness – collaborative study
A recent collaborative study has suggested that loneliness can have a strong influence on health generally, with people who are socially isolated being far...
Pietermartizburg state hospital forced to use private cardiologists
A chronic shortage of specialists in state facilities – and the mounting difficulties of matching private sector salaries – has led to Pietermaritzburg’s Grey’s...
Motsoaledi defends limited LEN rollout
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has defended the limited rollout of the six-monthly injectable lenacapavir (LEN) – this as Gauteng Health last week announced that...
Rob Ferreira Hospital ‘has no hot water, no linen’, oversight visit finds
Nursing staff at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela have to take kettles to work to ensure their patients have hot water for bathing, because...
The best – and worst – districts in SA in which to give birth
A total of 29 babies died every single day in South African public hospitals in 2024 before they were one-month-old, according to figures from...
Slash costs and spread with targeted LEN in pregnancy, breastfeeding
Targeted deployment of twice-yearly lenacapavir for pregnant and breastfeeding women without HIV in high-incidence districts in sub-Saharan Africa could substantially reduce vertical transmission at...
Rapid ageing in young adults tied to hike in cancer rates – US study
Scientists say that younger generations are ageing biologically more quickly than previous generations, which could explain why some cancers have risen faster in young...
Two TB researchers on getting the disease themselves
Being a researcher who studies TB in the lab is one thing, having the bug in your lungs is quite another. Spotlight’s Elri Voigt...
Pregnant women’s samples show exposure to 45 chemicals – US study
One of the largest investigations ever conducted into chemical exposure during pregnancy has found that expectant mothers regularly encounter dozens of chemicals found in...
How to kickstart stuck pharmacy ARV roll-out
Eight months after the Supreme Court of Appeal gave the green light for specially trained pharmacists to dispense antiretrovirals without a script from a...
'First of its kind' system to reduce Gauteng hospital waiting times
Gauteng Health has introduced a 'first' in South Africa system to reduce hospital waiting times and unblock surgical access, a situation which has reached...
Diabetics twice as likely to have hearing loss – Australian review
Researchers led by a team in Brisbane have suggested that adults with type 2 diabetes are more than twice as likely to develop clinically...
Ombud probe into six medics’ deaths finds no link to workplaces or bullying
A joint investigation into the deaths of six KwaZulu-Natal healthcare professionals has found no direct link with victimisation, workplace bullying or adverse working conditions,...
Children wait nearly three years for surgery at Charlotte Maxeke
Gauteng Health MEC Faith Mazibuko has called for a dedicated emergency paediatric theatre with dedicated anaesthetic and nursing support at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital. This...
SA prepares for Ebola outbreak as DRC health workers threaten strike
Government has designated 36 hospitals – 12 private and 24 public facilities – to manage any Ebola patients if the virus reaches South Africa,...
Nurses’ religious objections push SA teens to backstreet abortions
An 18-year-old from rural Limpopo said she had to resort to an illegal abortion from a traditional healer after a nurse at a public...
Donation of R1.1m boosts Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust
The Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust has received a significant donation of R1 105 000 from the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT), which will...
KZN doctor opens container clinic for her rural hometown
An enterprising and dedicated young doctor has provided a medical lifeline for her rural hometown community in KwaZulu-Natal, using her personal savings to open...
Enterprising Pretoria scientists turn citrus waste into health supplement
A team of young researchers at the University of Pretoria is developing an innovative health supplement that transforms citrus peel waste into a potentially powerful...
Gut health, metabolism, disrupted by sweeteners – US review
A recent study has suggested a link between calorie-free sweeteners and blood sugar control, with researchers saying their findings confirm others that warn about...
Public health threat as South Africa battles illegal weight loss drugs
Costly new generation weight loss drugs are unaffordable for most people, which has opened up a black market for cheaper, unregistered and untested versions...
More than 50 hospitals still headed by acting CEOs
The absence of permanent CEOs at state hospitals across South Africa is alarming, with Gauteng alone having 13 out of 37 facilities headed by...
Tobacco Bill lurches forward – with amendments possible
South Africa’s much stalled and controversial Bill that plans to enforce stringent regulations on tobacco use and the vaping industry is showing signs of...
Boys die after flu-like symptoms
A four-year-old boy from Verulam, outside Durban, died last week hours after being treated for a cough, said his mother, who is waiting for...
Egyptian doctor arrested after exposing obstetric violence
Egyptian human rights groups have condemned the arrest of a former doctor – later released on bail – after she had posted testimony on...
Lung issues for teens for up to two years after TB treatment – Peru study
A recent study in Peru, led by researchers from Brown University in the United States, has concluded that adolescent pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) survivors have...
NPO testing finds pesticide residues in South Africans’ everyday foods
Testing commissioned by the advocacy NPO African Centre for Biodiversity has found pesticide residues in a range of products, including maize meal, bread, fruit...
SA doctors rally against xenophobia and urge healthcare for all
As protests against undocumented foreigners spread across SA on Tuesday, and thousands of foreigners were forced to flee the country, a group of more...
Vaccine hesitancy – lessons from South Africa and Brazil
Vaccine uptake has been declining in Brazil and South Africa over the past decade, reversing important gains in protecting children against vaccine-preventable diseases like...
UCT study finds major risks to unborn babies from indoor pollution, tobacco smoke
A recent study has suggested that pregnant women exposed to poor quality indoor air – including tobacco smoke – can place unborn babies at...
Crucial advance in MDR-TB treatment from South African team – NEJM
South African and American researchers have published the results of a practice-changing clinical trial in The New England Journal of Medicine, showing the effectiveness...
'A matter of time' before Ebola arrives in SA, says expert
One of South Africa’s top infectious disease experts has warned that it’s simply “a matter of time” before an Ebola case is imported to...
Special mental health unit built for Western Cape’s teenage girls
The Western Cape has spent millions designing and building a specialised inpatient ward for teenage girls battling severe mental health issues, reports IOL.
Lentegeur Hospital’s...
Global drop in deaths from infections causing diarrhoea – Lancet study
Deaths from infections that cause diarrhoea and other intestinal illnesses have fallen sharply since 1990, thanks in part to the rotavirus vaccine, among other...
Faulty spine implant recall may mean major surgery for thousands
The global recall of a spinal implant – with recommendations from the manufacturers for patients to undergo urgent X-rays – may lead to thousands...
JAMA publishes Covid jab study blocked by CDC journal
A study on Covid vaccines that was blocked from publication in the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s flagship journal by the acting director...
SAMA warning as number of bogus doctors rises
Fake and unregistered doctors in South Africa are becoming harder to identify, according to the South African Medical Association (SAMA), which told The Citizen...
Call for action as diabetes now leading cause of natural deaths
Tens of thousands of South Africans are dying annually from diabetes-related illnesses, the Diabetes Alliance has revealed after its review of mortality data released...
Pregnancy fears after birth control pill shortages
A contraception shortage in some North West and Gauteng clinics for the past three or four months is increasing women’s concerns about unplanned pregnancies,...