
Hypertension hits old and young
Mpumalanga - When Lucia Sibanyoni (35) was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) she didn’t think too much it, believing it was an elderly person’s condition.

Mpumalanga - When Lucia Sibanyoni (35) was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) she didn’t think too much it, believing it was an elderly person’s condition.

Two recent studies conducted by the University of Cape Town and published in the latest SA Medical Journal have found significant contamination of hair clippers with blood and blood-borne viruses, especially Hepatitis B.

While the Western Cape High Court ruled on the use of medical cannabis last year, most South Africans remain confused on the issue, including some members of the South African Police Service.

LIMPOPO – The plight of a 27-year-old mentally and physically handicapped man from Mpheni village, outside Louis Trichard is growing increasingly worse as nobody is looking after him and a loan shark retains possession of his social grant card.

Children, especially in rural areas, are turning away from school feeding schemes because they fear being judged for being poor by their fellow learners, despite being hungry. HEALTH-E NEWS spoke to learners and experts about the stigma of hunger and its effect on children's health and education.

The stigma attached to disabled people in rural communities is proving to be a real problem for caregivers in Limpopo who are being hampered in their efforts to help and educate.

LIMPOPO – Despite most public libraries now offering hope to visually impaired people through the South African Libraries For The Blind Project, many blind people in rural areas remain unemployed with limited opportunities.

Destruction of property and acts of intimidation that accompanied National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union’s recent strike at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital has been harshly condemned.

The murder of a 13-year-old albino girl and the theft of body parts from a 28-year-old albino man hours after he was buried has Mpumalanga residents angry and fearing for the lives of other albino people.

Corruption, medicine shortages, healthworkers being barred from treating patients – the public healthcare sector in the North West province has been in crisis for weeks. Health-e News’s GRAEME MAKAM reports.

NORTH WEST - Breeding chickens at home, also known as backyard poultry farming, has come under the spotlight following this week’s recall of over 200-million eggs in the US.

MPUMALANGA – “I remember the last time my mother disappeared. People from a nearby community found her walking alone in the middle of the night naked. She couldn’t remember her own name and because she was naked people thought she was a witch. They wanted to burn her alive.”

As protests across North West province increase along with demands for Premier Supra Mahumapelo to resign, the province's embattled health sector is feeling pain.

LIMPOPO - The Komape family, with the help of Section27, is set to appeal the judgment handed by the Polokwane High Court dismissing their claim for R3-million compensation for the death of five-year-old Michael Komape who drowned in a pit toilet at school.

LIMPOPO – On Monday the family of Michael Komape – the five-year-old boy who drowned in faeces after falling into a pit toilet four years ago – will find out whether their request for damages has been granted, giving them final closure.