In just less than two months after the registration of Glaxo-Smith-Kline's cervical cancer vaccine by the Medicines Control Council, the regulatory body has registered yet another vaccine aimed at preventing the cancer.
Cape Town's executive director of health Dr Ivan Toms died of meningococcal meningitis.
TB scientists say HIV infection and poor quality sputum specimens make it difficult to diagnose TB. This in turn contributes to the rapid spread of TB and drug resistance, especially in HIV-positive patients.
The outbreak of Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB) in Tugela Ferry in the Msinga area of KwaZulu-Natal in 2006, marked a turning point in the fight against TB.
Stunned friends have remembered Ivan Toms as a a larger than life character who had tremendous energy and huge passion for the country he loved and served.
The tall man in the wheelchair folds the nursing sister's hand in his and shakes it enthusiastically. 'Thank you my little sister, thank you. God bless you, my sister. Thank you for everything you have done.'
Your life - including work, studies and family - could be seriously disrupted if you develop drug-resistant tuberculosis. That's why it's important to complete the six month course of medication if you're diagnosed with the primary form of TB. Taking your medication will cure you, protecting yourself and others.
HIV/AIDS accounts for many child deaths in South Africa - about two thirds of children in public health facilities. It's also a leading cause of death among new mothers. This is according to a report published recently, called 'Every Death Counts'.
South Africa has by far the worst TB prevalence rate in the world, with almost 1000 South Africans out of every 100 000 living with the disease in 2006.
Every day in South Africa, 260 mothers, babies and children below the age of five die. These are signs of an ailing health system, says report.
Statistics show that cervical cancer kills more women than any other form of cancer in South Africa. Yet fewer women go for a regular pap smear test to check for the development of the cancer.
Gaps in healthcare system causes unnecessary deaths of mothers and babies, according to the report "Every death counts".
The extension of government's prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission plan is on track, says Dr Nomonde Xundu, although no deadlines have been set
Next week, the TAC takes government to court over its failure to act against vitamin seller Matthias Rath. But there's still time to settle, says the TAC.
In 2006, the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) called pneumonia 'the forgotten killer of children'. Today, one in 10 children worldwide continues to die even though childhood pneumonia can be prevented.
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