Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have mainly been making headlines as a cutting-edge form of cancer treatment. Recently, however, presentations on CARs have been given at HIV conferences. Elri Voigt asks what CARs actually are and how they might one day be used to treat HIV.
After seemingly endless delays, a critically important drug for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis was recently approved in South Africa. Yet, while the approval of flucytosine was a major step forward, much more still needs to be done to ensure wide availability of this life-saving medicine for the second leading killer of people living with HIV. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks the details.
Amid several reports of assault on healthcare workers and robberies at health facilities in the Free State, many healthcare workers are fearing for their safety. Refilwe Mochoari visited some of these ‘hotspots’ to see what security measures are in place and spoke to healthcare workers and health authorities about their security and safety concerns.
Many people in South Africa unnecessarily suffer from chronic pain due to system failures, poor access to expensive medicines, and lack of sufficient medical education on pain management. What’s worse is that even though morphine is cheap and easy to administer – those who do need palliative care often don’t receive it. Elsabé Brits takes an in-depth look at how we deal with pain in South Africa.
Health experts expect this year’s flu season in South Africa to be far less severe than flu seasons prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but more severe than last year. Adele Baleta reports on the reasons for thinking this and what we know about this year’s flu vaccines and their efficacy.
Wieda Human, Ingrid Schoeman, Ruvandhi Nathavitharana, Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen, and Ananja van der Westhuizen from TB Proof argue that we need to look upstream for solutions to improve indoor air quality.
The Mpumalanga Department of Health is plagued by many challenges ranging from water shortages affecting some of its health facilities, poor medicine distribution, and a spate of assaults and robberies putting healthcare workers at risk. Nthusang Lefafa spoke to unions, opposition parties, and the department about these ongoing challenges and plans to address them.
Framing the fundamental human right to healthcare as insurance cover opens it up for exploitation. It blocks any possibility of achieving equity in health care. Here Dr Louis Reynolds from the People’s Health Movement of South Africa explains why and how.
This month, the Khayelitsha District Hospital will celebrate ten years since it opened its doors. Tiyese Jeranji visited the hospital and spoke to the CEO, some staff members, patients, and health stakeholders about the services the hospital provides, its successes and continuing challenges.
Second-trimester abortions, which occur between the beginning of the 13th and the end of the 20th week of pregnancy, are difficult to access in the public sector. This is mainly due to the lack of designated abortion facilities and the unavailability of abortion providers to provide the service and the Eastern Cape is no exception, writes Sibusisiwe Ndlela, Khanyisa Mapipa, and Thokozile Mtsolongo.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic has stymied the progress of the tuberculosis response across the world, the call for increased investment is important. Although health programmes can always do with more financial assistance, in South Africa, for its TB Recovery Plan to work, the focus should be on the strategic use of existing resources, argues Russell Rensburg.
Professor Keertan Dheda has come a long way from growing up as one of three siblings in a one-bedroom apartment in a high-rise in central Durban. Biénne Huisman chatted to Dheda, now the head of the University of Cape Town’s Division of Pulmonology, and a Professor in Mycobacteriology and Global Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, about work-life balance, problem-solving that excites him, and a career dedicated to the fight against tuberculosis.
