Interview: From a pig farm in Zim to star HIV researcher- Prof LGB reflects on her remarkable journey

Posted in: HIV/AIDS, Latest

Inside Professor Linda-Gail Bekker’s office a bookshelf is stacked with titles on general medicine, HIV and tuberculosis. Against the bookshelf, a mannequin leans dressed in a white doctor’s coat, sparkling tiara and pink Venetian mask, with a stethoscope protruding from her pocket. Known to colleagues as LGB, Bekker is one of South Africa’s top HIV researchers. Biénne Huisman chatted to Bekker about her remarkable career, finding new ways to reach young people, her love of both art and science and the thinking behind the slogan “get ripped, get prepped”.

Interview: From a pig farm in Zim to star HIV researcher- Prof LGB reflects on her remarkable journey

Analysis: Amid budget constraints, tough choices for SA’s HIV response

Posted in: HIV/AIDS, Latest

Around 13% of South Africa’s population are living with HIV and the country has the world’s largest HIV treatment programme. The country’s finances are however under huge pressure and significant cuts were recently announced to government’s HIV budget. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks what a new HIV Investment Case can tell us about the possible paths forward.

Analysis: Amid budget constraints, tough choices for SA’s HIV response

Lead poisoning part 2: Scientists find toxic metals in kitchenware

Posted in: Latest

In part one of this Spotlight special series on lead poisoning, Jesse Copelyn explored new research suggesting that lead exposure is far more damaging to cardiovascular health than previously estimated. In part two, he takes a look at the sources of lead poisoning in South Africa, where the metal has been found in products ranging from cooking pots to serving plates.

Lead poisoning part 2: Scientists find toxic metals in kitchenware

Antibiotic slashes risk of drug-resistant TB in kids, finds major SA study

Posted in: Latest, TB

Tuberculosis (TB) preventive therapy has been transformed in recent years, with treatment duration having been cut from six or more months to just three or one. Progress in developing new treatments to prevent drug-resistant forms of TB has however lagged behind, especially in children. Elri Voigt unpacks findings from a major new TB prevention study presented at the Union World Conference on Lung Health last week and plans for another important preventive therapy trial set to start soon.

Antibiotic slashes risk of drug-resistant TB in kids, finds major SA study

Funding shortfall and poor roads to blame for ambulance woes, says Eastern Cape Health Dept

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Latest

Some residents in the Eastern Cape have been left frustrated by delays or outright lack of response by Emergency Medical Services in the province. This is in part caused by a chronic shortage of ambulances and paramedics. Recent labour disputes have further complicated the situation. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.

Funding shortfall and poor roads to blame for ambulance woes, says Eastern Cape Health Dept

Interview: “Someone had to do it”, says SA TB activist on Time 100 list

Posted in: Latest, TB

At the age of 19 Phumeza Tisile contracted multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. For four years she battled the disease, losing her hearing in the process. At one stage, a doctor told her to visit a priest and prepare her soul for death. Recently, Tisile (now 33) made it on to TIME magazine’s 2023 TIME100 Next list, as one of 100 emerging leaders round the world who are “shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership”. Sue Segar chatted to Tisile about her remarkable journey.

Interview: “Someone had to do it”, says SA TB activist on Time 100 list

In-depth: What is behind the shocking number of deaths linked to lead poisoning?

Posted in: Latest

Evidence suggests that even the tiniest amount of lead is detrimental to our health – and that’s bad news for people in South Africa, who are exposed to large amounts of the metal. Jesse Copelyn explores why lead does so much damage to the brain and heart, and why scientists keep finding it’s worse than we’d previously thought.

In-depth: What is behind the shocking number of deaths linked to lead poisoning?

In-depth: SA’s remarkable TB clinical trial capacity

Posted in: Latest

Several of the world’s most important tuberculosis clinical trials of the last two decades were done in part or entirely in South Africa. Tiyese Jeranji chatted to some leading researchers about where the country’s clinical trial capacity comes from and what is needed to maintain and improve it.

In-depth: SA’s remarkable TB clinical trial capacity

Interview: “I’m doing it with my whole heart”, says SA’s rural nurse of the year

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Latest

Nosiphiwo Gunuza from Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape was the first college graduate in her family and is their sole breadwinner. The 43-year-old health worker was recently crowned South Africa’s Rural Nurse of the Year. Biénne Huisman caught up with Gunuza.

Questions asked as Gauteng Health sources food from Limpopo

Posted in: Gauteng, Latest, Limpopo

The Gauteng Department of Health has struggled this year to ensure that patients in the province’s hospitals always have the food they need. Now a decision to source food for Gauteng hospitals via a government contract in Limpopo is raising eyebrows. Thabo Molelekwa reports.

Questions asked as Gauteng Health sources food from Limpopo

In-depth: How do long-acting HIV treatments work?

Posted in: HIV/AIDS, Latest, Science

Researchers have been trying to develop antiretroviral medicines that can last for weeks, months or even years per dose. Two such long-acting formulations have been approved in South Africa, but several more are on the horizon. Elri Voigt explores the science behind what makes a formulation long-acting and takes a look at some particularly exciting prospects.

In-depth: How do long-acting HIV treatments work?

In-depth: What new WHO TB numbers mean for SA

Posted in: Latest

An estimated 54 000 people died of tuberculosis in South Africa in 2022 and around 280 000 fell ill with the disease, according to just-released figures from the World Health Organization. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks the figures and what they mean for the country’s TB response.