Health e News

The plight of Zimbabwean refugees in SA

Organizations representing Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa are calling upon the government to intervene in challenges they face in accessing health care in the country.

Insurers waive discriminatory AIDS exclusion clause Living with AIDS # 298

From April 1st, insurance companies belonging to the Life Offices’€™ Association, will no longer deny policy holders life, disability or funeral cover benefits should they become infected with HIV.

Educate TB patients – experts

Medical experts say that lack of education about TB among patients is contributing to the development of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB).

WHO TB Strategy out of reach for many endemic countries

A much larger TB drug resistance problem exists than researchers previously thought. New global data on TB, published this week by the World Health Organization (WHO), highlight serious weaknesses in many national TB programmes, increasing the potential for widespread TB drug resistance. How did we reach this precarious state?

TB – Better management brings Khayelitsha success

Not much good news tends to emanate from Khayelitsha. More often than not the sprawling Cape Town township is associated with high levels of violent crime, poverty, disease, unemployment and a lack of basic services and housing. But the township has made huge inroads in tackling TB, a curable disease that mostly infects people living with HIV and poor people.

Drug resistant TB poses greatest risk to healthcare workers

Until recently, Mandla* was a nurse at a Durban hospital. But for the past few months, he has been a patient trying to shake off multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB.

Drug-resistant TB calls for new techniques

The emergence of Extremely Drug Resistant Tuberculosis is an indication that national TB control programmes fall short from being effective. As part of improving these and preventing a massive spread of the deadly strain of TB, improved methods of diagnosing the disease are needed.

Higher risk of TB in HIV+ kids ‘€“ study

Children under the age of two born to HIV-positive mothers are at risk of getting TB, but the risk doubles if the child also has HIV.

Off the map Living with AIDS # 297

A new publication, ‘€œOff the Map’€, shows how the exclusion of sexual minorities in national HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa could jeopardise the continent’€™s efforts to rid itself of the epidemic.

Traditional beer & oesophageal cancer

A researcher at the Witwatersrand University’€™s Analytical Pathology Department, Dr Zodwa Dlamini, says home-made African traditional beer may not be as toxic as it’€™s recently been reported to be.

A dialogue to save lives Living with AIDS # 296

In what is termed a ‘€œhistoric’€ meeting, government, civil society and business leaders are today coming together for the last of a two-day summit in Johannesburg to finalise the country’€™s AIDS plan for the next five years.

Draft AIDS plan hailed as far-sighted

Legalising commercial sex work, programmes against alcohol and drug abuse, subsidies for people who adopt orphans and food support for HIV positive moms who breastfeed exclusively are some of the innovative new interventions contained in government’€™s draft plan to fight HIV/AIDS.

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