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Weekly Roundup
SA included in MSF's trial of new MDR-TB treatments
The Expand new drug markets for TB (endTB) is a phase III randomised controlled trial of five new, all-oral 9-month treatment regimens for MDR-TB,...
Cabinet approves NHI Bills for public comment
South Africa’s Cabinet has approved the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill for publication in the Government Gazette, for public comment. Business Day quotes Communications Minister...
Criminals targeting health facilities in Limpopo
The Limpopo Health Department says criminal elements targeting provincial health facilities are blocking people’s 24-hour access to clinics. An IoL report quotes the department...
Hawks flush out bogus backyard doctor
A retired auxiliary nurse who masqueraded as a qualified doctor charged patients R350 per “consultation” in his Gauteng backyard. Now, reports The Times, the...
Community health clinic in Alex closed after stabbing
Staff and patients at the Alexandra Community Health Centre are traumatised after witnessing a man being stabbed to death in the emergency section on...
More could have missed UK breast cancer screening than previously thought
Many more women in the UK could have missed out on breast cancer screening invitations dating back further than previously thought. The Guardian reports...
CHAPS encourages medical circumcision in Limpopo
Despite medical male circumcision being offered for free at most government health facilities, many families who live in villages far away from public health...
DoH offers placements to SA medical students
The Department of Health has announced that it has allocated and offered placements to medical interns and community service doctors who have studied in...
SA reviews food safety in wake of listeriosis epidemic
The South African government says that it is conducting a review of food safety legislation in a bid to prevent another deadly outbreak of...
KZN hospital 'tried to deceive' DA during visit
An announced oversight inspection by the Democratic Alliance (DA) to St Mary's Hospital late last week, as part of the DA's #HospitalHealthCheck Campaign, was...
Rift Valley fever confirmed on Free State farm
Rift Valley fever has been confirmed on a sheep farm in the Jacobsdal area in the Free State. The Times reports that according to...
Over half of HIV infected children in highest burden countries remain untreated
While a growing number of countries have adopted World Health Organisation guidelines recommending antiretroviral treatment for all children with HIV, more than half of...
US opioid epidemic increases availability of organs for donation
At this very moment, more than 110,000 people across the US are lingering on organ transplant waiting lists. But now the ravages of the...
Many UK diabetics denied life-changing technology
Thousands of people in the UK with diabetes are being denied new life-changing technology that helps them to safely manage their condition, reducing the...
FDA approves new migraine drug
Amgen Inc has won approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the first drug in a new class designed to prevent migraine...
FDA approves Truvada for adolescents at risk of HIV
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approval of Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV to include...
New 3D joint ROM technology launched in SA
Therapists and other medical professionals looking to accurately measure range of motion (ROM) in patients, may benefit from the launch of the 3D Joint...
EP Health agrees to stop dumping medical waste in municipal landfills
The Eastern Cape Health Department has agreed to stop dumping used medical gloves and cottonwool in Nelson Mandela Bay municipal landfills – following a...
Limpopo Health accused of moving patients without a proper plan
The Ndlovu Care Group is accusing the Limpopo Health Department of moving patients without having a proper plan in place. News24 reports that it...
Bara condolences to family of man killed by psych patient
The management of the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto has sent condolences to the family of the patient who was killed by another...
NHI Bill ready for the Ramaphosa's scrutiny
Seeking to assure Parliament he was making progress in realising the ANC’s promise of universal healthcare, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that the long-awaited...
SA has successfully eliminated trans-fats in food – WHO
South Africans are sub-Saharan Africa’s most obese people, mainly due to the rising popularity of processed food. Heart attacks, strokes and type two diabetes...
Insect-borne diseases more than triple in the US
The number of people getting diseases transmitted by mosquito, tick and flea bites has more than tripled in the US in recent years, The...
Two programmes addressing SA's HIV crisis among young women
An estimated 2,000 new HIV infections occur in young women and girls every week in South Africa. Now, says Health-e News, a joint Spotlight/Health-e...
WHO releases handbook on treatment for FGM
A handbook has been released by the World Health Organisation for health care providers involved in the care of girls and women who have...
Netcare wins international accolades for environmental sustainability programmes
Private healthcare group, Netcare, has been internationally recognised for its environmental sustainability programmes, winning four Climate Champion Awards – two gold and two silver...
UK urged to improve its very low breastfeeding rates
The UK is among countries with the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, according to research conducted by Unicef. And, reports The Independent, in...
Poor service at Khayelitsha hospital frustrates residents
Frustrated Khayelitsha residents say poor service at their local hospital is driving them to seek help elsewhere.
According to a Weekend Argus report, the hospital...
Release of Health Market Inquiry report delayed again
The Competition Commission’s Health Market Inquiry (HMI) has announced yet another delay in the publication of its provisional report, pushing out the deadline by...
KZN Health MEC slammed over Church of Scotland Hospital comments
The Health & Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) has criticised the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Health Department for the dismal health standards...
African women activists call for UNAIDS's head
Following a sexual harassment investigation at UNAIDS gone wrong, 23 leading African women activists believe executive director cannot be trusted to lead the world’s...
MPs urged to reject costly abortion Bill
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) MP Cheryllyn Dudley’s private members Bill on abortion hit another stumbling block as the Department of Health urged MPs...
Intern doctor survives murder attempt at a Mpumalanga hospital
The South African Medical Association (Sama) Lowveld branch has strongly condemned the attempted murder of an intern doctor during a burglary at Mapulaneng Hospital‚...
Overcrowding blamed for assaults by Thembisa Hospital psychiatric patients
Eight staff members have been assaulted by psychiatric patients at Tembisa Hospital since January last year‚ and the death of one psychiatric patient at...
Government proposes changes to current tobacco control legislation
The Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill is the government’s first significant reforms to tobacco control legislation in a decade. But,...
Largest cholera vaccination campaign in history launched in Africa
The largest cholera vaccination campaign in history has been launched in an attempt to put the brakes on a disease which is ravaging parts...
'Shocking error 'sees UK junior doctors offered wrong jobs
HR departments must not underestimate the importance of smart recruitment, experts have warned, following a blunder that saw up to 1,500 junior doctors in...
World air pollution levels dangerously high — WHO
Data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that air pollution levels are dangerously high in many parts of the world. Most...
Netcare pledges 1,000 new healthcare jobs over 5 years
The opportunity to launch a career in the healthcare sector will be offered to 1 000 South African youths through a five-year commitment from...
DTHF implements innovative youth-focused health services
The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) is implementing a number of innovative youth-focused health services around Cape Town, and according to a Spotlight report,...