Measles outbreaks are devastating countries across the globe, linked to a massive drop in vaccination rates. The World Health Organisation has raised the alarm and ranked ‘vaccine hesitancy’ as one of the top 10 threats to public health everywhere. Is South Africa immune? HEALTH-E NEWS’ Amy Green reports.
Measles outbreaks are devastating countries across the globe, linked to a massive drop in vaccination rates. The World Health Organisation has raised the alarm and ranked ‘vaccine hesitancy’ as one of the top 10 threats to public health everywhere. Is South Africa immune? HEALTH-E NEWS’ Amy Green reports.
The high mortality rate in children under the age of five years might soon be a thing of the past. This follows the announcement by the Department of Health that it will roll-out Prevenar, a vaccine that prevents pneumococcus pneumonia, one of the leading causes of child deaths.
The high number of South African women who die of breast cancer every year has prompted 12 breast cancer survivors to ride motorcycles from Johannesburg to Cape Town to promote awareness about breast cancer
The public health sector has come under criticism over poor services and the failure to implement government policies effectively.
The Department of Health is expected to change its guidelines on AIDS treatment to allow people with a CD4 cell count higher than 200 to qualify for antiretroviral therapy.
Experts say the discovery of the new Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) TB diagnostic tool will go a long way in fighting the scourge.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has launched an HIV and AIDS training tool-kit aimed at educating young girls who join the movement about HIV.
Discovery Vitality has introduced a program aimed at encouraging school children to live healthy lifestyles. A survey conducted by the Sport Science Institute of South Africa (SISSA) in 2007 indicates that the level of obesity among South African school children, because of unhealthy diet and lack of exercise, is higher than that of other African countries.
Independent health economist, Alex van den Heever, says the country'€™s public health system does not have the capacity to accommodate foreign migrants. The statement follows a series of reports of foreign migrants being denied access to health care.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has vowed to continue using the courts to protect those living with HIV. The Cape Town High Court recently ruled in its favor to stop Dr Matthias Rath from conducting unauthorized clinical trials and promoting his multivitamins to people living with AIDS.
Lobby groups are concerned about the high numbers of women who die of breast cancer every year in South Africa, despite the fact that the disease is one of the most curable cancers if detected early.
Men are generally known to be reluctant to test for HIV. But statistics collected by New Start, a non governmental organization working in getting people to test for HIV, suggest the opposite.
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has urged whites and Indians to take part in the third South African National HIV, Behavior and Health Survey, which is now underway. This follows past observations that the two racial groups do not want to participate in HIV surveys.
The failure of several clinical trials to find an effective HIV prevention mechanism has prompted the Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, to call for a review of research trials.
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