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SA healthcare: It's not collapsed, merely distressed — Motsoaledi
While Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi this week claimed that government health services were just 'distressed', a Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) report...
E-cigarettes pose a danger to the health of children — FIRS
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies, a coalition of respiratory doctors and scientists, warns that there is mounting evidence to justify calling for a...
Motsoaledi slams 'murderers' but Nehawu is defiant
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union’s (Nehawu’s) is under fire over last week's violent protests in Gauteng hospitals, with Health Minister Dr...
Cancer services take strain as radiation oncologists leave SA state sector
SA has just 38 state-employed radiation oncologists, of which 16 are in the Western Cape, according to the annual survey conducted by the...
Funding 'still the biggest stumbling block' to NHI
The successful implementation of South Africa's National Health Insurance (NHI) programme hinges on its funding model, according to a legal expert. Partner at law...
Lancet Commission: Access to legal abortions still a problem in SA
Despite SA’s liberal abortion laws, the government has failed to turn policy into a reality, with only 270 of 8,000 health facilities offering termination,...
Violent hospital blockades continue despite Parliament's 'concern'
While a parliamentary committee has decried the blockading of hospitals by strikers, demands by North West doctors that the SA Department of Health guarantee...
Five healthy habits may increase life expectancy by at least 12 years
Maintaining five healthy habits – eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, keeping a healthy body weight, not drinking too much alcohol, and not smoking...
Most restaurant owners support SA's new stricter anti-smoking measures
South Africa's Cabinet has approved the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, which provides for a ban on smoking at outdoor...
SA should give the NHI a chance
Natasha Salant, a law graduate from the University of Cape Town, currently interning at the Rural Health Advocacy Project writes in a Bhekisisa report.
“About...
Misconceptions rife over the causes of cancer
Mistaken belief in mythical causes of cancer is rife, according to research from the University College London (UCL) and the University of Leeds. The...
Doctors plead for resolution of North West Health crisis
Doctors in North West Province have broken their silence over the ongoing health crisis in the province, calling for urgent intervention to resolve the...
London summit pledges $4.1bn to eradicate malaria
The worldwide resurgence of malaria, which kills half a million people a year, has sparked philanthropists, business leaders and ministers from donor and malaria-affected...
Drinking alcohol above daily recommended limit shortens life
Drinking alcohol will shorten your life. Research in the United Kingdom suggests that every glass of wine or pint of beer over the daily recommended...
Research explores lifestyle effects – preconception – on future children
Couples who are obese, as well as those who smoke and drink alcohol, could be risking the health of their future children, reports The Guardian....
NICD refutes DA claims on listeriosis source; death toll still rising
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) expressed 'major concern' over Democratic Alliance claims that the primary source of the outbreak was still unknown and that the Minister...
Respiratory virus contagion risk while flying
A US study of transcontinental flights found that Passengers seated within one row and within two seats laterally of a passenger with flu had...
Sugar Tax is just the beginning, says Motsoaledi
South Africa is less than two weeks away from implementing the hard-won tax on sugary drinks. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said now that “we’ve...
Time in the sea increases a variety of ailments — systematic review
People who swim, bathe or take part in water sports in the sea are substantially more likely to experience stomach bugs, ear aches and...
Listeriosis outbreak 'highlights SA's food safety shortcomings'
The devastating listeriosis outbreak is a reflection of the weaknesses in the SA food system, says Professor Lise Korsten, co-director at the Centre of...
Source of listeriosis outbreak traced and blame game begins
Anger and blame has erupted over the dismal handling of the listeriosis outbreak after the outbreak was at long last traced to a Tiger...
Antibiotic usage link to surgery infection in low-income countries
The increased likelihood of people having surgery in low-income countries developing an infection than those in wealthier nations, may be linked to drug-resistant bacteria,...
Increase in fatal traffic crashes on annual US cannabis celebration
Drivers in the US are more likely to be in a fatal traffic crash during the annual 20 April cannabis celebration, according to research...
WHO sends expertise as SA listeriosis deaths keep rising
The SA death toll from listeriosis has risen to 164, with nearly 900 documented cases in laboratories and half the fatalities being infants under...
Far-UVC light kills airborne flu viruses without human harm
Continuous low doses of far ultraviolet C (far-UVC) light can kill airborne flu viruses without harming human tissues, according to a study at the...
Eastern Cape’s 'deadly' incompetence and lack of capacity
With an annual healthcare budget of R21bn, the Eastern Cape faces R17bn in negligence litigation and is faltering under ‘deadly’ levels of incompetence and...
Many vape-flavouring chemicals trigger inflammation
Exposure to e-cigarette flavouring chemicals and liquids can cause significant inflammation to monocytes, a type of white blood cell – and many flavouring compounds...
Moderate alcohol use can be good for the heart if rich, fatal if poor
Moderately frequent alcohol users have a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD) than infrequent drinkers and this is more pronounced among those...
Cancer-related lost productivity costing BRICS countries billions
Premature – and potentially avoidable – death from cancer is costing tens of billions of dollars in lost productivity in a group of key...
Social spending ‘better' than health spending
Increased social spending was associated with health improvements at the population level, while health spending increases did not have the same effect, according to...
Despite HIV risk, withdrawing Depo-Provera could increase maternal mortality
Even if Depo-Provera and other contraceptive injections raise the risk of HIV infection, withdrawing them from use in African countries would greatly increase maternal...
Medical detentions: African poor forced to have sex to pay hospital bills
Hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are detaining hundreds of thousands of people against their will every year – many of them mothers and...
Serious health risks to energy drinks — Harvard study
A Harvard review on energy drinks finds their advertised short-term benefits can be outweighed by serious health risks – which include risk-seeking behaviour, mental...
Number of young, obese South Africans doubled in 6 years
The number of young South Africans suffering from obesity doubled in six years while this took 13 years to happen in the US, reports...
Ballooning wine glasses may drive growing alcohol consumption
Rising levels of drinking may be partly due to the growing size of wine glasses, particularly over the past two decades, acccording to University...
Magnetic field radiation puts pregnant women at risk
A Kaiser Permanente study of real-world exposure to non-ionising radiation from magnetic fields in pregnant women found a 2.5 times higher rate of miscarriage.
Non-ionising...
Young people experimenting more widely
Young people today are taking part in a wider range of sexual practices, such as oral and anal sex, with opposite-sex partners compared to...
SA plan on tobacco shows misplaced zeal – American Vaping Association
A misplaced zeal on the part of SA Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and activists has caused them to set their sights on products...
Motorcycle accidents more costly and dangerous
Compared with car accidents, motorcycle accidents cause three times the injuries, six times the medical costs and five times the deaths, Canadian research has...
Health Department warns on deadly SA listeriosis outbreak
The SA Health Department has warned on an outbreak of listeriosis that has claimed 36 lives and infected almost 600 people. Dr Aaron Motsoaledi...