When Desmond Pedro discovered a strange hardness under his ribcage, he was just 30 and preparing for a fresh start on a government skills course. Little did he know that he would soon die of liver cancer caused by undetected hepatitis B. Sue Segar spent time with his family and spoke to experts to uncover how this overlooked virus continues to claim lives — and what can be done to stop it.
Almost a decade after they were first proven to be safe and highly effective, game-changing medicines to cure hepatitis C are finally becoming more widely available in South Africa. But not all the regulatory and other challenges behind the delay have yet been overcome and, as a result, access remains relatively limited for now. Catherine Tomlinson reports.
People in South Africa who fall ill with tuberculosis (TB) often also have other health issues. HIV, which drives much of the TB epidemic in South Africa, is the most obvious co-infection, but people who fall ill with TB are also more likely to have diabetes and mental health problems than the general public. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to local experts about the interesting links between TB and liver problems.
