Wellness

 

Kind in Wes-Kaap dood aan witseerkeel

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’n 10-jarige meisie van die Nomzamo-township naby die Strand is dood en drie familielede is besmet met die hoogs aansteeklike bakteriële siekte witseerkeel, het die Wes-Kaapse gesondheidsdepartement Maandag bevestig.

Die meisie het op 3 Augustus positief getoets vir die siekte en is die volgende dag dood “weens die erns van die siekte”, sê Mark van der Heever, woordvoerder van die departement.

Die siekte is ook by die meisie se ma en twee sibbe gediagnoseer nadat die departement al haar gesinslede getoets het in ’n poging om die verdere verspreiding te keer.

Hulle het medikasie en entstowwe gekry,” sê Van der Heever.

“Meer as 600 individue is in hierdie spesifieke gemeenskap ingeënt,” sê hy.

Volgens die Wêreldgesondheidsorganisasie is 30 000 gevalle van witseerkeel en 3 000 sterftes wêreldwyd in 2000 aangemeld, in vergelyking met byna 100 000 infeksies in 1980.

Hulle het medikasie en entstowwe gekry,” sê Van der Heever.

MEER
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By using the IoT to solve the healthcare puzzle

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Footprint Africa Business Solutions (FABS) moves from IoT development into healthcare by creating Doc-in-a-box and brings a plethora of medical tools and technologies for those living and working in rural areas.

There is a way to catch the challenges on the African continent in a web of innovation and ingenuity. It doesn’t involve extensive expense or investment in fresh and shiny technology either. Often, the best solution is one that takes what’s already in play and uses it in a different way. This is precisely what Footprint Africa Business Solutions (FABS) has done with their Doc-in-a-Box.

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IoT solutions that change the lives of people

“We moved our
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A New class of drug could reduce cardiovascular risk

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A new class of drugs has the potential of reducing cardiovascular risk by targeting a specific microbial pathway in the gut.

Unlike antibiotics, which non-specifically kill gut bacteria and can lead to adverse side effects and resistance, the new class of compounds prevents microbes from making a harmful molecule linked to heart disease without killing the microbes, which are part of the gut flora and may be beneficial to overall health.

In the study in mice, the new drugs reversed two major risk factors for cardiovascular disease – increased platelet responsiveness and excessive clot formation – by lowering levels of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide), a gut bacteria byproduct that forms during digestion.

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Could you have hepatitis and not know it?

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According to the World Health Organisation, Africa has one of the highest hepatitis infection rates in the world. Sadly, many people are unaware they have it.

Hepatitis affects 60 million people in Africa. Worldwide, an estimated 325 million people are living with chronic hepatitis-B virus (HBV) or hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infections.

What makes this particularly concerning is that many are unaware that they have hepatitis and are at risk of a slow progression to chronic liver disease, cancer and even death.

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammatory disease of the liver. The condition can be self-limiting or can progress to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or cancer.

The most common cause of hepatitis is due to infection by one of the hepatitis viruses but it can be caused by other infections, medication, alcohol, toxic substances and certain autoimmune diseases.

What are the different hepatitis viruses?

There
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New gene editing technique could treat ALS and Huntington’s.

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A team of researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new RNA-oriented gene editing technique which could treat hereditary diseases such as ALS and Huntington’s.

The team used a method called RNA-targeting CAS9 (RCas9) to track RNA in live cells and correct “molecular mistakes” which lead to diseases.

The new technique eliminated over 95% of the RNA markers linked to a type of ALS and Huntington’s disease.

Professor of cellular and molecular medicine Gen Yeo said that while this study provides evidence the technique works in a laboratory, there is still a long way to go before it can be tested on patients.

“Before this could be tested in humans, we would need to test it in animal models, determine potential toxicities, and evaluate long-term exposure,” he said.

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North West News:- Clinics close and medicine runs out as state owes millions

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Mafikeng Provincial Hospital is running on skeleton staff and two clinics in the North West province have closed their doors because of a lack of security. Moreover, a failure to pay service providers has left many other health facilities without security and in short supply of drugs.

Some health workers are refusing to work in the absence of security guards after contracted security companies recently withdrew their services from hospitals and clinics across the province.

Earlier this week, nurses stormed out and refused to work in some wards with without guards present. Later, one administrative staff member reported seeing three midwives left to oversee 48 women in labour.

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Do Artificial Sweeteners Raise Odds for Obesity?

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Artificial sweeteners may be less helpful than many believe in helping people lose weight and avoid health problems associated with extra pounds, a new evidence review suggests.

Aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and other artificial sweeteners did not lead to any significant weight loss in more than 1,000 participants in seven clinical trials, said lead researcher Meghan Azad. Clinical trials are considered the “gold standard” of medical research, added Azad, an assistant professor of pediatrics with the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.

At the same time, the combined data from 30 observational studies involving more than 400,000 participants showed that artificial sweeteners are associated with obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart health problems. Observational studies cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship, however.

These results are “kind of the opposite of what these products are intended for,” Azad said. “It should make pe
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The firm Cipla South Africa grows national footprint with Mirren acquisition

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Cipla Medpro South Africa (Pty) Limited (“Cipla Medpro”), wholly owned subsidiary of Cipla Limited, India (“Cipla”), and South Africa’s fourth-largest pharmaceutical company in the private sector, has announced its plans to acquire a 100% stake in Mirren (Pty) Limited (“Mirren”).

Mirren is a South African over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor, which has been in operation for 35 years. The transaction is subject to the approval by the Competition Commission of South Africa.

Paul Miller, CEO of Cipla South Africa, said that once approved, the transaction will enhance Cipla’s current OTC portfolio, by adding Mirren’s well-established brands such as Broncol cough syrup, Coryx, Tensopyn, and Ultimag. This deal will also increase Cipla’s local manufacturing footprint.

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Doctors Sound Alarm That SA Mental Healthcare Is Collapsing

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While almost all the previous Life Esidimeni psychiatric patients have been transferred from the NGOs in Gauteng back into hospitals, a group of doctors have warned that the psychiatric structure in South Africa is collapsing.

Reports reveal that in some mental health hospitals there are no psychiatrists, and none of the provinces have organised community-based psychiatric services at present. The South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) said even 150 days after the Health Ombudsman released a report, many hospitals were still facing a shortage of staff with minimal resources.

The president of the SASOP, Professor Bernard Janse van Rensburg, told Health24 that South Africa’s healthcare system is totally fragmented and broken. “Esidimeni was just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. At the beginning of this year, Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba said the death toll of mentally ill patients who were transferred from Life Esidimeni to 27 NGOs w
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What happens when disaster strikes

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There are a lot of scary threats in the world – extreme weather, terrorist attacks, deadly infectious diseases, mass shootings – but if healthcare organisations plan ahead for such disasters, lives can be saved.

The first step for health care organisations preparing for emergencies is to accurately assess the kinds of hazards they may face, such as flooding, power outages, or violence, emergency preparedness expert, Paul Biddinger said at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health as part of the Hot Topics summer lecture series.

In 2005, Biddinger and colleagues learned from consultants from Israel—who’d dealt with bombings that resulted in mass casualties—that the average time from when a bomb goes off until the first person reaches the closest emergency department is four minutes. Experts from other places that had dealt with bombings, including London, Madrid, and Mumbai, confirmed that events unfold incredibly quickly during a disaster.

Realising that
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Diarrhoea Outbreak:- Tests underway to find cause

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The Mpumalanga Provincial Government has called on members of the public, who suspect that they may have diarrhoea, to visit their nearest health facility.

This comes as the provincial government tries to contain a diarrhoea outbreak in the Ehlanzeni region.

“To date, over 1,300 cases of diarrhoea have been reported in health facilities, especially within Mbombela Municipality. The provincial government is further encouraging citizens to go to the nearest health facility immediately if they suspect that they are experiencing diarrhoea, which is mainly in the form of passing loose stools, feeling nauseas and vomiting as well as feeling stomach cramps,” said the spokesperson of Mpumalanga Premier, Zibonele Mncwango.

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Experts decry plan to consolidate small medical schemes !!

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The plan by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to consolidate or dissolve small medical schemes posed risks to the people who belong to these schemes and might force some to drop their cover, industry sources warned this week.

More than 228,000 people belonged to 31 medical schemes that had fewer than 6,000 members at the end of 2015, according to the CMS 2015-16 annual report. All but three of these schemes are restricted employer groups. Restricted employer group schemes generally subsidise members on low incomes, enabling them to buy cover they could not afford on the open market.

CMS acting registrar Sipho Kabane said consolidating the industry was in line with the white paper on National Health Insurance (NHI).

Medical schemes with fewer than 6,000 principal members were targeted as they fail to meet the requirements of the Medical Schemes Act. The act says schemes must have 6,000 members to register.

Consolidation was necessary because fragmented r
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The Free State health delivery improving, but there’s more to do

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The Free State has made commendable progress in implementing some of the suggestions made by the National Council of Provinces to improve healthcare delivery in the province.

However, the Select Committee on Social Services, which was conducting a week-long oversight visit, said that more still needs to be done to reach an acceptable level in the quality of services and environment at healthcare facilities.

More ambulances

An additional 60 ambulances have been procured and will be delivered within the next two months to deal with the unacceptably high waiting time for emergency ambulances. The committee has urged the provincial government garage to speed up the process, so that the pool of vehicles serving the people is expanded.

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Ground Breaking operation: Youngest child in Africa gets mechanical heart

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A five-year-old KwaZulu-Natal boy made history when he became the youngest person in Africa to receive a mechanical heart implantation. In what is considered a ground breaking operation doctors from the Maboneng Heart Institute‚ at the Netcare Sunninghill Hospital‚ inserted a heart ventricular assist device (HVAD) into Mnotho Mndebele’s “severely damaged” heart which helps it..
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The Real Truth: Antidepressants Actually Deplete These 3 Crucial Nutrients for the Brain !!

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Antidepressants are one of the most prescribed medications out there.
One in six Americans takes antidepressants or other psychiatric medications, most of them (84.3%) on a long-term basis. (1) This is especially concerning when using addictive drugs like Valium and Xanax. (2)

That number is more than double what it was in 1999….
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