COVID-19-related factors resulted in several years of lower-than-normal rates of the flu, but experts say that is now something of the past. As this year’s flu season gets under way, Elri Voigt asks several local experts what their expectations are, which flu vaccines are available this year, and whether we should be concerned about new strains of bird flu.
From Antarctica to Haiti, to red zones in Cape Town, Dr Shaheem de Vries is accustomed to getting his hands dirty while saving lives. He tells Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman about the new challenges he faces as CEO of Groote Schuur Hospital.
Elri Voigt unpacks the complex effect that HIV has on the kidneys, how HIV and chronic kidney disease has evolved after the roll out of anti-retroviral treatment, and what the situation is now in the country for people living with HIV and chronic kidney disease.
Heroin use has increased markedly in South Africa. Jesse Copelyn analyses the drivers of the crisis, the policies that could help curb it, and those that could make it even worse.
That HIV can develop resistance to the drugs used to treat it is nothing new, but results from recent studies reveal the emergence of resistance in subsets of people living with HIV to dolutegravir – an antiretroviral widely used in South Africa. Top HIV experts spoke to Elri Voigt about the new findings and what it means for people living with HIV in the country.
In addition to shedding light on what people actually die of, autopsies can also play an important role in helping us to better understand disease. Tiyese Jeranji unpacks tuberculosis-related autopsy research in the Western Cape and delves into some of the fascinating complexities of this branch of TB research.
Scientists worldwide are sounding the alarm at the return of syphilis, describing the comeback of the easily preventable infection as a huge public health failing – as an effective vaccine remains elusive.
The proportion of South Africans consuming marijuana, cocaine and heroin has increased substantially since the early 2000s, research shows. Jesse Copelyn breaks down the reasons for these trends and potential solutions to the problem.
As COVID-19 cases increase things are looking a little different from normal at the Melusi container clinic in Tshwane. Elna Schütz reports.
When Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku was sworn in last year, he committed to turn the department around – a department the Gauteng premier described as ‘on its knees’. Spotlight sat down with Masuku to talk about staff morale, COVID-19, NHI, Mamelodi Hospital, and more.
MPs were caught up in a foxtrot of hypotheticals and assurances over COVID-19 with Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize and senior officials in Parliament today. Mkhize and his department briefed MPs in the Portfolio Committee on Health on COVID-19 ahead of a debate on South Africa’s readiness for an outbreak in the National Assembly tomorrow.
While the word midwife often conjures up images of old-fashioned births, the profession is still a vital part of modern health care. Spotlight spoke to some midwives and those involved in training about what it takes to be a midwife.
