Political will needed in TB fight
The sad fact is that while politicians in the provinces are dilly-dallying hundreds of adults and children are dying needlessly from a Tuberculosis, a curable disease.
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Cool heads to deal with Marburg
It is imperative for the Department of Health to keep the South African public and the media informed around the Marburg outbreak in Angola. At the same time it is important that the media report in a responsible manner by not fuelling any panic with sensational and incorrect reporting.
WHO disappoints SA govt
Government is disappointed that there has been no clear message stemming from the high-level World Health Organisation AIDS and Nutrition conference held this week.
US executions by lethal injection may not be painless
Prisoners executed by lethal injection in the US may have experienced 'excruciating pain' while dying because they were not properly sedated, according to research published in this week's issue of The Lancet.
Beat it before it beats you
Living with AIDS # 210
Temperatures are dropping and leaves are turning. Winter is on its way and that means the flu is not far behind. Influenza can be fatal for some, including those living with HIV.
Living with AIDS # 210
World search for guidelines to eliminate vitamin charlatans
WHO meeting aims to develop African consensus on nutrition and HIV/AIDS.
Witness to AIDSLiving with AIDS #209
In his memoir Justice Edwin Cameron reveals how social and political denial, fear of illness and death, government's reluctance to provide ARV therapy as well as the double stigma of being homosexual and infected, impacted on his life.
Shared breastfeeding contributes to HIV transmission
Breastfeeding of babies by a non-biological caregiver with HIV is one of the most important factors associated with HIV infection in children. A study released in Cape Town this week also found that there is a potential for health-care acquired transmission of HIV in the maternity, paediatric and dental facilities in the Free State health institutions.
Report confirms increase in teacher deaths
More teachers are dying than ever before and most of them are African and women. These and other findings are contained in a report released this week ' Educator Attrition and Mortality in South Africa.
Young, rural teachers most at risk
Thousands of teachers have been lost to HIV. An HSRC study has revealed the extent of the epidemic among educators and has called for 10 000 to be placed on anti-retroviral treatment with immediate effect.
Too few resources to fight drug-resistant TB
KZN has the most tuberculosis cases in the country, but hospitals are fighting a losing battle against deadly multi-drug resistant TB.
Is prevention better than cure?
Living with AIDS # 207
If one is HIV-positive and lives in the developing world is it inevitable that they will also contract tuberculosis? There's no easy answer to that, but because of the sheer scale of TB infection rates among HIV-positive individuals it is becoming standard practice to provide prophylactic medicine to prevent dual infection. But does it work?
Living with AIDS # 207
The dark side of TB
Erratic exposure to treatment due to irregular drug supply, inappropriate diagnosis and prescription by health care providers as well as poor adherence to treatment by the patient are all factors leading up to the development of Multi-Drug Resistant TB. Side-effects associated with treatment can also influence patients to stop taking their medication. In this report we visit an MDR-TB referral centre in Klerksdorp, North West.
Home sweet home for Jaco
Jaco Joseph (17) returns to his Vredendal home after almost three years in Cape Town hospitals as doctors battled to cure him of Multi Drug Resistant TB. Jaco will return to his foster parents and six year old brother after losing his mother to the same disease. Anso Thom spoke to him before he boarded a minibus taxi.
‘Little things’ bring big success to local TB programme
The TB rate in Cape Town continues to be among the highest in the world, yet the city has managed to achieve impressive cure rates.