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Experts say bird flu not a threat to humans

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The SA Poultry Association has warned all types of chicken are at risk of contracting bird flu, whether free-range, hardbody or conventionally bred live chickens.

Association CEO Kevin Lovell said the sale of live chickens had been banned to curb the spread of the virus. But the ban had nothing to do with preventing illness in humans.

“Though all chickens are susceptible to the disease, the bird flu is an animal health problem and not a human health one. The specific version of the flu discovered in South Africa is not harmful to human health, but poses a great threat to the poultry industry as the ones infected must be culled if they have not died from the disease already,” he said.

Lovell said it was perfectly fine for people to continue buying chicken because regulations had been put in place to oversee the distribution of live chickens, ensuring no infected stock would be on the market.

“The association is working closely with the Department of Agricult
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Resident allegedly turned away from clinic because she’s ‘white’

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The metro has denied claims that Yolanda Ferencak’s children were turned away from Birchleigh North Clinic because they are white.

“The acting manager interviewed all the personnel at Birchleigh North Clinic. They indicated that none of them saw or sent away any patient or referred them to Birchleigh Clinic,” said Themba Gadebe, the metro’s spokesperson.

Ferencak from Terenure told Express that her 25-year-old daughter had taken her 11-month-old boy for immunisation injections at the clinic on July 4 when they were allegedly denied service.

“When my daughter got to the clinic she said a woman told her they did not assist white people and that it was a blacks-only clinic,” said Ferencak.

“Because they needed to go to a clinic, they then went to Birchleigh Clinic where they were assisted and a file for the baby was opened.”

“Racial preference or remarks are not tolerated and serious actions will be taken, should it occur,” said Gadebe.
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These are the cheapest and most expensive medical aids in South Africa

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The latest GTC (formerly Grant Thornton Capital) Medical Aid Survey for 2018 has been released, which compares local medical aid schemes on cost to members across various levels of cover.

South Africa’s medical aid industry is facing an uncertain time ahead with government recently pushing through two new healthcare bills that are set to shake up the entire system ahead of the launch of the National Healthcare Insurance (NHI) scheme.

According to GTC, there are still many lingering questions that need to be answered in term of government’s plans – with many risks in the proposed changes that could lead to higher costs for consumers who rely of private healthcare.

“The NHI and amendments to the Medical Schemes Bill are inevitable. The disparity between the have’s (some eight million members) and the have-not’s (some 45 million) is real and needs addressing. Government intervention is urgently required,” it said.

“It is however equally importa
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Police incompetence – 658 police dockets disappear in five years – How is this possible?

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658 police dockets disappear in five years - How is this possible?

Victims of crime, yearning for justice, may be waiting in vain, as recent reports reveal the disappearance of 658 police dockets in the space of five years. Missing South African Police (SAPS) dockets account for huge delays and invalidations within the criminal justice system. The report on missing dockets stems from a request made to..
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Brexit is warming up again: here’s how it affects South Africa

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Brexit is warming up again: here’s how it affects South Africa

You won’t have to look far to see news that Britain’s proposed exit from the European Union, or Brexit, has left Prime Minister Theresa May hanging by a thread, says Mica Townsend, business development manager at financial services provider, 10X Investments. “The resignation this week of Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson..
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“Fire thousands of nurses who cheated” – Medical Law Expert

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A medical law expert has called for the thousands of qualified nurses who cheated in mid-year bridging exams to be struck off the roll.

“It would be tantamount to gross negligence to allow these nurses to practise,” said pharmacist, ethicist and medical law practitioner Shafrudeen Amod.

On May 10, staff nurses with a two-year qualification and employed at a clinic or hospital, wrote first- or second-year bridging course exams. Passing the exams qualifies them as better-trained “registered nurses” who earn more and have more responsibilities.

The High Court in Pretoria, which has invalidated the exams, heard that many nurses saw the question paper before they wrote the exam, and some had the answers memo, which they could have taken with them into the exams.

The implications are far-reaching.

Ethicist and qualified doctor Aimes Dhai, director of the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, said the suggestion in the court judgment that thousands of candidates che
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Poor health services are holding back UHC – Universal Health Coverage

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Inaccurate diagnosis, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatment, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices, or providers who lack training prevail in countries of all income levels.

This poor quality health services are holding back progress on improving health, according to a new joint report by the OECD, World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank.

The situation is worst in low and middle-income countries where 10% of hospitalised patients can expect to acquire an infection during their stay, as compared to 7% in high income countries. This is despite hospital acquired infections being easily avoided through better hygiene, improved infection control practices and appropriate use of antimicrobials.. At the same time, one in 10 patients is harmed during medical treatment in high income countries.

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Transnet pensioners dying in poverty

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Transnet pensioners dying in poverty

While the class action lawsuit filed by Transnet pensioners against the state is being drawn out year after year with legal processes, a large number of people are living in destitute circumstances and over the last 60 months, since the lawsuit commenced, nearly 21 000 pensioners and/or their spouses have passed away (that is on..
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Democratic Alliance challenges Ipsos poll report

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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has hit back at Ipsos’s latest poll which indicates it could potentially lose 9% of its support in the 2019 general election — taking just 13% of the vote.
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Elderly farmer gets into shoot-out with police, is shot dead

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80-year-old farmer gets into shoot-out with police, is shot dead

The 80 year old farmer allegedly opened fire on the police after a violent dispute about some goats. A shoot-out occurred on Monday morning between an elderly farmer and police in the Bergville area in KwaZulu-Natal, reports the Ladysmith Gazette. Heavily armed police officers, together with an SAPS hostage negotiator, entered the farm just outside..
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Anger over medicines supply scheme

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It is crucial for the Rev Isaac Harley to take his medication daily – it’s a matter of life and death really.

As a diabetic with a hypertensive comorbidity, he depends on his tablets and insulin to maintain his insulin levels and to manage his high blood pressure.

But it’s been one problem after the next, he told The Sunday Independent, since his medical aid recommended he use its pharmacy’s direct service to deliver his chronic medication to his address instead of claiming from a local pharmacy in his neighbourhood, Elsies River in Cape Town.

“On more than one occasion I’ve had to call to find out what had happened to my medicine.

“During one stint I had no medicines for two weeks because of delivery delays and I didn’t have funds so I had to borrow medication from my mother, who is also diabetic, and money from friends to get the other medication privately,” the 48-year-old said.

In a battle spanning several years, the Independent Community
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Africa gets generic version of most effective HIV drug

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NAIROBI – The generic version of the most advanced drug against HIV has been introduced in Kenya, a first in Africa where more than 25m have the disease, the NGO Unitaid said.

The drug, Dolutegravir (DTG) is the anti-retroviral drug of choice for those living with HIV in developed countries, but its high price has put it out of reach for most struggling with the disease in Africa.

“The generic DTG has two advantages: on the one hand, it is very good from a pharmaceutical point of view. On the other hand, it is much cheaper,” said Robert Matiru of Unitaid, which works to reduce the costs of medicines treating Aids, tuberculosis or malaria.

He described the drug as “the most effective HIV treatment currently on the market.”

A box of 30 pills of DTG, which lasts a month, costs between $25 and $50. The generic version only costs $4.

Kenya has already started rolling out the new drug, which will initially be provided for free to 27,000 people living with HIV
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Making vaccines ubiquitous is the key to cracking the cold chain challenge

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Over the years vaccines have prevented countless cases of disease and saved millions of lives. Infectious diseases like polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), rubella (German measles), smallpox, mumps, tetanus and rotavirus used to be common around the world. Today vaccines can prevent them.

Despite this, one in five children in the world aren’t fully protected by even the most basic vaccines. In addition, almost 20 million are at risk of contracting preventable diseases because they are under-vaccinated. As a result about 1.5 million children die every year from diseases that can be prevented by vaccination coverage.

One of the main reasons is that there are many rural areas in the world that don’t have reliable power supplies. Vaccines need to be kept at particular temperatures, usually refrigerated, to remain effective. Cold chain conditions aren’t possible without power. A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain that runs fr
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Shortage of National cancer drug may last until October

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A deadly national cancer drug shortage is approaching its third month and patients may have to go without until October – if they can make it.

In February, Nic Basson was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a fast-growing malignant brain tumour, which is located in his brain’s language centre and affects his ability to communicate.

He was prescribed the steroid betanoid to help control inflammation associated with the tumor. But in April, his local pharmacy told his wife, Debra, that it could no longer fill his prescription, sending Debra on a frantic country-wide search for the drug – to no avail.

She explains: “Within 24 hours without betanoid my husband had lost his ability to speak.”

She continues, softly: “He also has memory loss, so even when he can find words, he forgets what he was going to say. He is essentially trapped in his own mind.”

Betanoid is not just used to treat brain tumours, the medicine is also prescribed to patients b
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Hospital cash-back plans crimped by new law

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The demarcation regulations clearly distinguish between medical insurance products and medical aid schemes. For the consumer, this means that while limited gap cover and hospital cash-back plans will still be allowed, primary healthcare insurance policies will no longer be available. All existing policies will need to align with the regulations from 1 January 2018.

Affected markets

These regulations will primarily affect those between 20 and 35 years of age. The annual Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) report shows that children up to the age of 20 usually stay on their parents’ medical aid. Then you see a significant drop in the number of dependents between the ages of 20 to 35, and then the line goes up again. This is a clear indication that the young and healthy are exercising their freedom of choice to not have medical aid cover. This is the group that, until now, has often relied on hospital cash-back plans for catastrophe cover.
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