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Toxicology
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...
Rise in children’s cannabis poisonings in Australia
As access to medicinal cannabis in Australia increases, so too does the risk of poisoning, especially in adolescents and children, experts have warned, noting...
Human brain samples contain spoon’s worth of nanoplastics – US study
Cognitively normal human brain samples collected at autopsy in early 2024 contained more tiny shards of plastic than samples collected eight years previously, according to a...
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...
US bans Red No 3 dye, flags cancer links
The US has banned the use of a synthetic red food dye that gives some sweets, cakes and certain oral medications a cherry-red colour,...
Paracetamol pack sizes reduced in Australia
In new harm-reduction measures from next month, packs of paracetamol sold in Australia will contain fewer tablets, both in pharmacies and other outlets.
The Therapeutic...
Marketers of CBD-coated tampons warned by FDA
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has slammed a UK company for “adulterating” its products, sending it a warning letter for selling tampons...
FDA limits toxic lead in some baby foods
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has set maximum levels for lead in baby foods like jarred fruits and vegetables, yogurts, and dry cereal,...
Millions of mental diagnoses linked to lead in petrol – US study
A recent study has suggested that a history of lead in petrol – going back to as early as the 1920s – could be...
US bans common carcinogenic chemicals
In a decision welcomed by environmentalists and health advocates, America’s Environmental Protection Agency has banned two solvents found in everyday products that can cause...
Action plan launched to combat food poisonings in SA
Children from a primary school in Limpopo were checked for suspected food poisoning last Thursday after 75 of them complained of stomach ache –...
US analysis links 22 pesticides to prostate cancers
Researchers have found that nearly two dozen pesticides are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in the United States, four of them also being...
Health experts urge banning of toxic pesticides after children's deaths
Evidence linking pesticide exposure to serious health impacts has been steadily mounting, with health experts repeatedly sounding the alarm and now, after six more...
Snake anti-venom stocks dry up again
The production of snake anti-venom in South Africa appears to have come to a standstill again, with health practitioners – as well as vets...
Pesticides may have a role in Gauteng ‘food poisonings’
The surge in food poisoning among Gauteng children – more than 200 cases this year, with 10 of them fatal – could have been...
Experts flag liver-damaging botanical supplements
Millions of Americans consume supplements that contain potentially hepatoxic botanical ingredients, according to a recent study, with the research team also expressing concern about...
‘Teflon flu’ sending Americans to hospital
Toxic fumes from burning non-stick frying pans sent a record number of Americans to hospital last year, with data showing that more than 250...
Common blood thinner could treat cobra venom – global study
A commonly used blood thinner can be used as an antidote to cobra venom, an international study has suggested, research that experts have described...
SA and J&J drawn into toxic cough mixture scandal
South Africa and J&J has become entangled in one of the world's worst wave of poisoning from oral medication with the recall of a...
SA study finds lead in kitchenware
South Africans are potentially being exposed to pottery and ceramics that are coated in glaze containing lead, a toxic heavy metal which can damage...
Lancet case study on nerve agent poisoning – as Russia arrests the victim
The current edition of The Lancet features an anonymous case study from a top Berlin hospital that is clearly based on the near-fatal poisoning...
Big strides made in push for affordable, effective anti-venom
News that Fav-Afrique - one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most effective snakebite antivenoms - was set to expire in 2016 caused dismay among public health...
Broad-spectrum snake venom antidote developed
US chemists have developed a molecular gel to neutralise deadly snake venom more cheaply and effectively than with traditional anti-venom, according to a University...