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Tuesday, 1 July, 2025

FOCUS: HIV

South Africa not on list for generic 'gamechanger' HIV drug

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
The US has approved lenacapavir as a twice-yearly injection to prevent HIV, but the game-changer drug remains out of reach for South Africans, who carry the world's highest burden of HIV. MedicalBrief writes that the drug is awaiting regulatory approval in South Africa but will be unaffordable for the vast majority of its citizens as the country is not among those to be supplied with generic versions. Daniel O’Day, chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences, called the approval of Yeztugo...
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NEWS UPDATE

Cancer ‘the new HIV in South Africa’

Cancer cases in South Africa are rising, with projections that numbers could reach 120 000 within the next five years – double what was recorded in 2019, say concerned health experts, who also warn about the increased burden, financial and otherwise, on an already creaking public health sector. They also suggest that cases are, in fact, under-reported – possibly by as much as 40% – and that cancer is not regarded by authorities as a priority disease, despite killing thousands of people every year. A decade or so ago, cancers and tumours accounted for almost 10% of all deaths, but with...

HPCSA finds radiology firm guilty of unprofessional conduct

The Health Professions Council of SA (HPSCA) has found Netcare service provider Bergman Ross & Partners (BRP) guilty of unprofessional conduct. BusinessLIVE reports that the complaint was brought by Thapelo Motshudi, who partnered with BRP in 2015 to provide radiology services at Netcare’s Pinehaven facility through an outfit called Motshudi Bergman Ross Radiologists (MBR). Motshudi’s complaint to HPSCA was that BRP reneged on an oral agreement that they would own the practice on a 50:50 basis, with the latter now claiming a 74% stake in the practice because it provided banking guarantees upfront. Motshudi partnered with BRP in 2015 to provide radiology...

Health experts urge government to prioritise antimicrobial resistance

An open letter from more than 70 infectious disease and public health experts is urging the Department of Health and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to launch a national action plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), describing it as a “pandemic which is wreaking havoc”. The group of doctors, scientists and public health advisers, which formally presented the letter to the department last week, warned that antibiotic resistance is becoming a “growing threat” and poses a threat to universal health coverage through the National Health Insurance, writes Liezl Human in GroundUp. More than 1m deaths a year worldwide are directly caused by...

New posts for jobless doctors after protests

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane announced yesterday that the department would be opening up 20 posts for unemployed doctors and advertising them within the next seven days – this after a sit-in by protesting jobless medics outside the KZN premier’s office in Pietermaritzburg since Monday. The frustrated doctors had staged their third protest this year outside the Office of the Premier, demanding that provincial posts be advertised immediately, and an explanation for the delay in not doing so. Their two previous protests had failed to deliver any positive outcomes, members of the organising committee for the sit-in, Zakwe and Nosihle Hlophe,...

No money for fire compliance at Charlotte Maxeke – Gauteng Health

Repairs to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital after the devastating fire in April 2021 are progressing well – albeit slowly – but the Gauteng Department of Health admits there is no budget for the R1.7bn needed for fire compliance measures, which the DA has slammed as unacceptable. Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said the department “is actively exploring various funding options and private investments to support this critical phase”. Already, the initial feasibility report and the concept report have been approved, and a business case is being developed, he told City Press. The hospital was currently operating at a bed capacity exceeding pre-fire levels,...

Gauteng Health on vaccine drive as measles spreads

Measles cases are escalating in Gauteng, with the Health Department now launching an aggressive vaccination campaign in schools and at taxi ranks, in efforts to halt infections. Since the beginning of the year 181 cases have been reported – most of them in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni – with 15 new cases being recorded in the past week alone. TimesLIVE reports that hotspots in Tshwane include Mamelodi with 35 cases and Winterveld with 10. The department has embarked on a targeted vaccination campaign in schools, with more than 18 000 pupils vaccinated in more than 15 schools in Mamelodi and 16 schools in...

SA drags heels on vape regulations, warns WHO

South Africa is among the last 60 countries that have yet to ban or regulate e-cigarettes, and has been tardy in making tobacco products more expensive in efforts to reduce smoking, according to a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO), released at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin recently. A total of 110 countries now insist that tobacco companies label their products with graphic health warnings, while 25 countries require plain packaging aimed at reducing the appeal of branded cigarettes – but South Africa is not yet among them. The “Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025” report, which reveals that...

NICD urges heightened awareness of rabies

The latest Public Health Bulletin South Africa (PHBSA) surveillance report has called for heightened awareness of rabies, with the country still recording cases among unvaccinated animals and which can lead to fatal consequences in humans. The study, “Epidemiological trends of animal bites and human rabies cases in Limpopo, South Africa, 2011–2023: A retrospective review”, underscores the importance of ongoing surveillance to monitor bite incidents and human rabies cases and to identify high-risk areas for targeted interventions. Most rabies cases are reported in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, but while exposure is almost 100% fatal, it is preventable through timely and...

Brain dead woman taken off life support after birth of baby

An American nurse who had been declared brain dead but had been kept alive since February because she was pregnant was taken off life support on Tuesday, after her baby was delivered prematurely last Friday. Her mother, April Newkirk, said 31-year-old Adriana Smith’s baby was born by an emergency Caesarean section. She was about six months into her pregnancy, reports The Associated Press. The baby, named Chance, weighed less than 1kg at birth and is in the neonatal intensive care unit. “He’s expected to be okay,” Newkirk said. “He’s just fighting.” Newkirk said her daughter had suffered from sudden and intense headaches...

New research unit at Steve Biko Hospital impresses President

The newly-established Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI) facility at Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria has impressed President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited the facility this week and acknowledged the number of women in key senior positions. The facility, made possible by the Department of Science & Innovation, the Department of Health, and the University of Pretoria, was lauded by the President for its diversity, which he described as “impressive”. It aims to advance drug development and clinical research, and provide cutting-edge diagnostics and treatment in cancer, TB and other major diseases burdening public health. Minister of Higher Education, Science & Innovation, Professor...

Regulator wrongly approved hundreds of nurses to work in UK

A damning report reveals that more than 350 fraudulent or under-qualified applications from centres in India, Nigeria and Pakistan were mistakenly approved by Britain’s nursing watchdog, with a review by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) saying the Nursing and Midwifery Council also failed to meet seven of 18 national standards. The scandal-hit council, which regulates more than 800 000 nurses and midwives, wrongly approved hundreds of nurses to work in the UK amid a “dysfunctional” culture previously exposed by The Independent, and is also failing to spot workers who could pose a serious risk to patient safety and to prioritise...

Mother's anti-chemo stance blamed for British graduate's death

A Cambridge graduate’s brothers have claimed she died as a result of the anti-medicine conspiracy theories promoted by her mother, who was struck off the nursing register in 2021 because of her beliefs. Paloma Shemirani died last year at the age of 23 after refusing chemotherapy, despite having been told by doctors she had a high chance of survival if she accepted the treatment, reports The Telegraph. Her brothers blame the anti-medicine views of their mother, Kate Shemirani, for their sister’s death. Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani told the BBC: “Our sister died as a direct consequence of our mother’s actions and beliefs.” Paloma...

UK MPs vote for assisted dying in England and Wales

Nearly seven months after it was first debated, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has now completed all of its steps in the British House of Commons, where the issue was hotly debated by MPs for almost three hours before they voted this week. Opponents claimed amendments made since its second reading failed to address safeguarding concerns for the vulnerable members of society who could be coerced to apply for assisted dying services. Supporters rejected the claims, insisting the proposed legislation aims to hand back terminally ill people the power of choosing how and when to die with dignity. The...

Mediclinic HR manager sacked for obsessive behaviour

A Johannesburg Labour Court judge has said that the CMMA erred in reinstating a hospital employee who was dismissed for pestering a colleague after she ended a relationship, and that it had committed a “gross irregularity” by doing so. The ruling related to an office romance at Mediclinic Nelspruit, which culminated in the dismissal of the human resources business partner (HRBP) after he refused to accept the end of his relationship with the receptionist. The woman, referred to as NK, broke up with Charles Thamsanqa Shiba towards the end of 2020, but he continued to inundate her with calls, texts and...

Free State clinics shut down for safety reasons

Two clinics which closed down in the Free State in April were inspected by Health MEC Monyatso Mahlatsi this week where she assessed the impact of the closures on services in the region, and issues of compliance. The facilities – Bophelong  and Leratong Clinics in Allanridge – were both in the Lejweleputswa District. SABC News reports that both had been given prohibition notices by the Department of Employment & Labour, citing non-compliance with health and safety regulations. Mahlatsi said that, among other things, there were some serious structural problems with the clinics. “I am relieved that district management has interacted with other facilities...

Woman arrested after baby stolen from Gauteng clinic

A 21-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a three-day-old child from a health clinic in the eastern part of Johannesburg, the third abduction of an infant in the country in the past month, said police. Spokesperson Sergeant Patricia Mgijima told TimesLIVE the 31-year-old mother had taken her newborn for a check-up at Margaret Zuma Clinic in the Winnie Mandela section of Tembisa on Monday. “She wanted to use the toilet, and the suspect – who was in the queue – offered to hold her baby for her,” said Mgijima. But when she returned, the stranger had...

Companies raise R365 000 for cystic fibrosis awareness

In a remarkable effort of community collaboration and corporate responsibility, Pachas Restaurant and TRX Electronics, both in Pretoria, joined forces to raise R365 000 for Breathtaking Fundraising NPC, an organisation dedicated to improving the lives of people with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in South Africa. The contribution highlights the power of collaboration while underscoring the urgent need for more corporate partners to support this important cause. The multi-organ disease is often accompanied by frequent hospitalisations, lung transplants, long hours of daily treatment sessions, shortened life expectancy, diabetes and chronic lung infection. Breathtaking Fundraising NPC envisions a future where every individual with CF...

MEDICO-LEGAL

Judge dismisses damages claim for unconscious claimant

The Supreme Court of Appeal last week made a ground-breaking judgment regarding general damages to be paid by health authorities to an “unconscious claimant”, ruling that the person is not entitled to any award for pain and suffering. The case involved a mother who was awarded R2.2m in general on behalf of her child who suffered a severe brain injury at birth due to negligence at a Gauteng hospital. The child, represented by his mother, was awarded R13.3m for special damages to make his life easier through the acquisition of special aids and devices to cope with his needs. In addition,...

SAMA calls for expulsion of Wouter Basson from register

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) SA is being supported by the EFF in its calls for cardiologist Dr Wouter Basson to be removed from the medical register, and is appealing for a “just outcome” in the Health Professions Council of SA’s renewed proceedings against the doctor. Basson, who has launched a court application for a permanent stay of proceedings – citing an unreasonable delay of 20 years in the HPCSA’s action against him – has argued that he was acting as a soldier in the then-SA Defence Force, not as a medical doctor, in his role in Project Coast,...

Czech fake ‘dentist’ used online instructions for complex procedures

Czech police have charged a 22-year-old fake dentist and two assistants after they had treated dozens of unsuspecting patients using instructions found on the internet. The three family members had opened a surgery without a licence in their home two years ago and treated patients without any professional knowledge – extracting teeth, performing complex root canals and applying anaesthesia, using only information obtained online. The BBC reports that all pleaded guilty to a number of charges, and face up to eight years in prison. Police did not say whether any of their patients had complained about their treatment. A 50-year-old woman worked...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

CARDIOLOGY

Breast implants linked to cardiac risks – US study

Women with breast implants had a significantly higher rate of abnormal cardiac functional test results than those without implants, a recent retrospective analysis has found. They also had an...

DIABETES

Severe diabetics ‘cured’ after new treatment – small US trial

A single infusion of a stem cell-based treatment may have cured 10 out of 12 people with the most severe form of type 1 diabetes, say scientists. One year...

ENDOCRINOLOGY

New drug for extreme hunger offers clues to obesity’s complexity

Scientists hope that the research behind a recently launched drug for a rare disease that triggers insatiable hunger – and which is changing the lives of sufferers – will...

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Simple fitness test might predict how long you’ll live – Rio cohort study

A large-scale study of mobility and mortality suggests that a simple test of your balance, strength and flexibility, known as the sitting-rising test, could be an early indicator of...

ONCOLOGY

Critically-ill patients' faeces may predict imminent death – US cohort study

The contents of a patient’s entrails could be key to assessing how close they are to death, according a team of doctors who created an index of markers in...

ONCOLOGY

Blood test IDs cancer three years before symptoms – US study

Fragments of tumour DNA can appear in the bloodstream up to three years before a cancer diagnosis, offering a potentially revolutionary window for early detection and treatment, researchers have...

Testicular cancer not an old man’s problem, despite perceptions – US survey

Despite the common misconception that it is an older man's disease, testicular cancer is most prevalent among men aged between 20 and 40. A survey, commissioned by The Ohio State...

WOMEN’S HEALTH

Long-term contraceptive pill use tied to tumour risk – French study

Recent research has suggested that the contraceptive pill desogestrel is linked to a small increase in the risk of developing an intracranial meningioma brain tumour, although the risk is...

ABOUT US

MedicalBrief is Africa’s authoritative weekly digest of medical matters, both on the continent and around the world. It brings you a succinct summary of the latest developments, both in news and research, with links to the original material. Contact us: info@medicalbrief.co.za

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