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Public Health
SAMRC study finds HIV death stats worse than thought
It is widely acknowledged among health and demographic experts that relying solely on what is written on death certificates is not always an accurate...
Possible arson to be probed in Tembisa hospital fires
The Gauteng Government and national MPs have not ruled out arson as a possible reason for the fires at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital, which...
With twice-yearly PrEP jab, is an HIV vaccine still vital?
The discovery of a highly efficacious option for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that requires only twice-yearly administration has led to the question of whether...
Hospital sued for refusing liver transplant for Zimbabwean child
An urgent High Court application due to be heard in Johannesburg soon may be too late to save the life of desperately ill Vanessa...
Two fires in three days at Tembisa Hospital
Fire disrupted services at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital on Wednesday after flames engulfed the Outpatient Department (OPD) – next to the Accident and Emergency...
Moderna gets $176m to develop pandemic flu jab
The US has announced it will pay Moderna $176m to accelerate development of a pandemic influenza vaccine that could treat bird flu in people,...
CT scan cancer risk warning – US study
A group of American physicians has warned that CT scans commonly taken to help detect injury and disease may be accompanied by an alarming...
New diabetes form recognised after decades of debate
A new type of diabetes that’s linked not to obesity but to malnutrition has been officially recognised, decades after first being observed in developing...
Another 150 000 HIV infections possible by 2028 from aid cuts
A modelling study commissioned by the National Department of Health into the impact of the Pepfar funding cuts has revealed that this could result...
Health Department plans six new academic hospitals for SA
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the public health sector will be boosted, in anticipation of the NHI roll-out, with new clinics and half a...
Drug-resistant infections killed 3m children worldwide
A landmark study presented this week at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) in Vienna has revealed that more than...
Groote Schuur emergency trauma project kicks off for Easter weekend
The Groote Schuur Hospital Emergency Funds for Emergency Surgeries project – which has raised more than half a million rands, and which was launched...
Exorbitant security costs for Gauteng Health flagged
The DA in Gauteng has called for a review of ballooning hospital security costs, with MPL Jack Bloom saying the exorbitant amounts could rather...
UTI drug offers hope as new gonorrhoea treatment – global study
A new type of antibiotic to treat urinary tract infections could also work against gonorrhoea infections, a study has suggested, possibly launching the medication...
Motsoaledi's R2bn boost for healthcare staffing … but not enough for nurses
There was good news from the Health Minister this week with the announcement that more than R2bn has been allocated for the hiring of...
New tests could help ID dementia in older Africans – SA research
International researchers – with the assistance of Wits University and University of Cape Town scientists – have introduced two improved tests that could precisely...
Gauteng Health appeals 'cancer backlog' court order
The Gauteng Department of Health has applied for leave to appeal an order – issued by the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) recently – compelling it...
Warning as new mpox variant spreads
Local infectious disease experts have warned people to be more vigilant regarding the new highly infectious mpox variant, Clade 1b, which has been reported...
Victorian diseases on the rise in Britain, warn doctors
Doctors in England have raised concerns over a rise in Victorian diseases, such as scabies, and growing health inequalities caused by poor-quality housing, air pollution and access to transport.
A...
Medical union threatens legal action and protests over overtime cuts
The South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) is considering legal action to interdict the Gauteng Department of Health's (GDoH) proposed cut in doctors’...
Court orders urgent action to address Gauteng cancer treatment backlog
The unacceptable, unlawful delay in providing treatment to Gauteng cancer patients, which has resulted in some of them dying, has been slammed by the...
Bara opens R26m children’s burns unit
The NPO Surgeons for Little Lives unveiled a state-of-the-art children’s burns unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital last week, with staff saying not even...
State turns to mining firms, Discovery to plug HIV and TB funding gaps
Mining companies that have, traditionally, provided drugs and treatment to combat HIV and TB in their workforces, are being asked to consider rolling out...
Who is allowed to prescribe medicines in SA?
What medicines need prescriptions and who is authorised to write them is not a straightforward matter. In his latest #InsideTheBox column in Spotlight, Dr...
Fewer South Africans dying of HIV, but infection numbers rising
The number of South Africans with HIV continues to rise, passing 8m in 2024, according to recently released estimates from Thembisa, the leading mathematical...
Immigrants turn to thriving black market for medicines
Prescription medicines are easily accessible from illegal vendors on the streets of Johannesburg as immigrants, who say they are denied healthcare in clinics, turn...
Call for anaemia screening in hospitalised children – Durban study
Researchers who found a high prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among hospitalised children in Durban have called for an urgent review of the...
Minister rethinks state doctors’ private jobs
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s proposal to review remunerative work outside the public service (RWOPS) could bring both benefits and challenges to the sector, says...
TB drug shortage hits provinces
The Eastern Cape is reaching crisis point with TB drug stockouts three months after reports of a global shortage of the medicines first emerged,...
Health Department owes millions to medical equipment suppliers
The Department of Health’s tardiness in settling its bills to hospital equipment suppliers is leading to a massive rise in small companies’ overdrafts and...
Petition urges improved care for SA’s diabetic children
A new petition launched by SA Diabetes Advocacy, in partnership with several national diabetes organisations, is calling on the National Department of Health (NDoH)...
NHLS must hand over cyber attack info, says regulator
The National Information Regulator has demanded details on the protection of personal information that was in place when a cyber attack knocked out the...
Autopsy backlogs delay Free State burials
The Pheko family in the Free State finally buried their son and brother last week after waiting three months for an autopsy to be...
Gauteng Health denies disease outbreak tied to maggots
The Gauteng Health Department has denied accusations of a disease outbreak in Pretoria North linked to maggots and staphylococcus infection – and claims on...
SA plan to boost TB testing
A plan to escalate the TB fight by boosting the number of people testing for the disease to 5m over the next 12 months...
Waning immunity, low jab rate, trigger SA diphtheria cases
Over the past 14 months, South Africa has experienced its highest rise in diphtheria cases in 30 years, with doctors attributing this to waning...
Hand, foot and mouth disease cases surge in Eastern Cape
Cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) have risen to 78 in the Eastern Cape, with the provincial Department of Health saying most...
NHS applies brakes to overseas nurses, doctors
Nearly half of the doctors employed by NHS England are non-British, while a quarter of the declining nurse numbers come from other countries, with...
No clinic in 30 years for Limpopo village
A village in Limpopo’s Vhembe district has had no clinic for 30 years and appears unlikely to be getting one any time soon –...
Minister in talks with funders to address funding shortfalls
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said talks had begun with local and international foundations on funding to fill the budget shortfall in its HIV/Aids treatment...