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Scientists scramble to unravel MERS-CoV mysteries
Saudi Arabia says the total number of cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), an often deadly new disease, had nearly doubled in the...
Emerging type of CKD hits poor agricultural communities
In the past two decades, deaths from chronic kidney disease (CKD) have risen so rapidly that CKD now represents the third highest rate of...
Non-communicable disease deaths ‘preventable’ with lifestyle changes
Heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and unintentional injuries cause nearly 900,000 premature deaths in the US each year. But, notes a...
Tanzania using climate data to fight malaria
Tanzania is enlisting climate data in a new approach to curbing malaria, reports Health24. Enhancing National Climate Services, a system established by the Tanzania...
Genes of the tsetse fly decoded
After 10 years, a team led from Yale School of Public Health has finally decoded the genes of the tsetse fly, a bloodsucking scourge...
US vaccination campaign preventing thousands of deaths
A US government programme launched 20 years ago to increase vaccinations for low-income children in the US will prevent more than 700,000 deaths, but...
The vulnerable in SA need routine TB screening – WHO
People with weak immune systems, like children, the elderly, and HIV and diabetic patients are at increase risk of developing active TB. But, reports...
Schistosomiasis adds to children’s HIV/Aids burden in SSA
Researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) have called for more research into HIV and schistosomiasis co-infection in children in sub-Saharan Africa,...
SA: Nationwide HIV prevention campaign needed
While new HIV infections among young South Africans (aged 15 to 24) have continued to decrease, the latest Human Sciences Research Council’s ( HSRC)...
Only a third of worldwide child TB cases ever diagnosed
New estimates by US researchers say as many as 32,000 children worldwide become sick each year with MDR-TB. According to Health24, the study found...
India declared polio-free
The World Health Organisation has declared India free of the crippling polio virus, making the country’s almost two-decade-long, multi-billion-dollar effort one of the biggest...
Drug resistant TB a ‘global health security risk’ – WHO
Half a million people fell sick with dangerous superbug strains of tuberculosis (TB) in 2012, but fewer than one in four were diagnosed, putting...
New radical plan to fight malaria
Some leading malaria experts are advocating a radical plan to try to stamp out the disease before resistance to the newest and best treatment...
Healthy lifestyle leads to longer life
Live longer thanks to fruit, an active lifestyle, limited alcohol and no cigarettes. Science Daily reports that this is the conclusion of a study...
Climate change will see malaria moving to tropical highlands
More people may contract malaria in the tropical highlands of Africa, Asia and South America as global warming makes the climate in these areas...
New estimates show higher TB rate in children
New estimates indicate that over 650,000 children develop tuberculosis (TB) every year in the 22 countries with a high burden of the disease (HBCs)...
Two-vaccine therapy advocated to eradicate polio
A polio jab that fell out of favour in the 1960s should be given a frontline role to help stamp out the disease. Dawn...
WHO ‘strongly recommends’ healthy g ay men take HIV drugs
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is urging all sexually active g ay men to take antiretroviral drugs to reduce the spread of HIV. But,...
Impact of malaria interventions shown in new RBM report
A new report highlighting the impact of malaria interventions on maternal, newborn and child health has been launched, which is the latest in the...
2014/15 Budget allocates R145.7bn to health
The Health Department will get R145.7bn in the 2014/15 Budget, of which, reports IoL, R52.3bn is for district health services, R26.7bn for provincial services...
Western Cape makes strides in improving women’s health
The Western Cape has made huge strides in improving women’s health and, a Cape Argus report says, statistics provided by the Western Cape Department...
Ugandan legislation impedes safe access to healthcare
Anything preventing safe access to healthcare can be detrimental, but in countries like Uganda which shoulder a disproportionate burden of disease, obstacles such as...
NHI roll-out to include 43 hospitals and 213 clinics – Minister
The SA government plans to build at least 43 hospitals and 213 clinics in the next five years for the country's proposed National Health...
Progress in fight against HIV and AIDS welcomed
Stakeholders in the health industry have welcomed the progress the country has made in fighting HIV and AIDS. South African Medical Association president, Dr...
Contraceptive device part of SA’s new family planning programme
A small under-the-skin contraceptive device will be made available free of charge to all women from next week. A Health24 report quotes Health Minister...