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latest news & developments
A cruise ship, hantavirus and global PTSD
The memory of the Covid-19 shock shapes how governments and publics react to any new outbreak with even a hint of international spread
How a boy born on World TB Day helped turn the tide on SA’s deadliest TB
Norbert Ndjeka was born on World TB Day. Decades later, he would reshape how South Africa treats the deadliest forms of the disease
Superbugs plus climate change equals double trouble. Here’s why
As the Earth becomes hotter, we’re seeing more floods and droughts. Flooding can make superbugs spread faster and further. And heat helps germs adapt faster
‘Turn crisis into opportunity,’ say African health leaders
Calls mount for African solutions to respond to the vaccine cuts and the need for a broad system-wide approach to vaccine production in Africa, and for innovative financing for…
The UN had a plan to fight deadly lifestyle diseases. Industry pressure killed most of it
At the UN General Assembly high-level meeting in New York next week, South Africa is expected to join other countries in signing a watered down declaration meant to curb diseases…
If a cigarette box isn’t disgusting, it’s not doing its job
A throat ulcer. Bloody urine. A sick baby. That’s what smokers in other countries see. In South Africa? For now, it’s a tiny black box
From the hospital to the lab: How we reported the snakebite scandal
You might think of snakebite as a niche issue rather than a devastating one. But it is thought to kill somewhere between 80,000 and 140,000 people a year.
SA Vaccine Producers face delays in snakebite antivenom production
About 4 000 people are bitten by snakes annually but only a quarter of those being admitted to hospital and only 10% require antivenom
Waste, food and power: How hospitals fuel climate change
Almost 5% of the world’s carbon emissions come from the healthcare sector. Rethinking how hospitals run can get this down. But healthcare workers say regulations stop them from…
By 2025, sangomas will have to be registered to practise
The health department says new regulations likely to come into force early next year are a step towards getting Western and traditional medicine to work together
How breast milk can help fight climate change
A new proposal that aims to get more women to breastfeed says this could cut back the greenhouse gas emissions and get countries that produce the bulk of emissions to pay for it
No mpox jabs for SA yet — but WHO and Africa CDC will help to fight the outbreak
Health authorities say vaccines will mostly be donated, or, when available, be bought via negotiated deals with drugmakers, but with different budgets
Mpox declaration marks a key shift in power for Africa
The continent asked for more say in global health decisions after Covid. It now has that. The mpox declaration is a test of this new power
Government says mpox is under control but cites Covid-19 pandemic in urging caution
President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was about the rapid spread of the disease across the continent, which reflected a ‘concerning shift in the epidemiological pattern’
South Africa’s health department urges vigilance as mpox is declared a continental public health emergency
The African Centres for Disease Control said so far in 2024, 13 countries had confirmed 2 863 cases and 517 deaths from the viral disease