HIV/AIDS: Weird science helping bid to defeat virus

NAIROBI: Computer gamers, glow-in-the-dark cats and neutralising viruses sound like the stuff of science fiction, but they may be the key to eliminating HIV. Read more >>

Over 54 000 added on ARV treatment

PRETORIA: The North West Department of Health is to add more than 54 000 people on antiretroviral treatment in the next six months. The decision follows an announcement by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe last month to initiate treatment for all people who test positive with a CD4 count of 350 or less. Read more >>

Litha Healthcare Group releases results for six months to June 2011

CAPE TOWN: Litha Healthcare Group Limited (LHG) has three divisions - Litha Biotech (biotechnology/vaccines), Litha Medical (medical devices) and Litha Pharma (pharmaceuticals). Litha Healthcare Holdings (Proprietary) Limited (LHH) and Pharmafrica (Proprietary) Limited (Pharmafrica) were fully consolidated for the full six months to June 2011. In the prior comparable period, the group owned 51% of LHH and an effective 66% of Pharmafrica, with their results included for only two months. Read more >>

HIV/AIDS and chronic diseases - learning from each other

JOHANNESBURG: Health officials in sub-Saharan Africa are finally focusing on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease, having spent much of the past decade concentrating on HIV/AIDS and malaria. Read more >>

Keeping a measure on malaria

NEW YORK: The African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) has launched a scorecard to improve the fight against malaria on the African continent. Read more >>

NHI tax on hold for now

PRETORIA: A tax to fund government's National Health Insurance (NHI) will not be introduced in the short term, says deputy director of general public finance in the national treasury, Andrew Donaldson. Read more >>

BHF proposes Pricing Negotiating Forum for healthcare industry

The recent statements by the Registrar for Medical Schemes indicating that solvency levels of medical schemes are decreasing have sewn confusion and uncertainty amongst medical scheme members, says the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), the industry representative body for medical schemes. Read more >>

SA student science team 'tweets' bacteria

Social networking sites Facebook and Twitter have inspired five students at the University of the Witwatersrand to take on the world with "tweeting" bacteria that could help fight cancer. Read more >>

Cervical cancer on the rise in developing world

LONDON: Last year, an estimated two million women around the world developed breast cancer or cancer of the cervix (the neck of the womb); more than 600,000 died - the equivalent of six large passenger planes crashing every single day. Read more >>

Patents crucial in dread disease research - Randall Rader

The role of governments, both in South Africa and elsewhere in the world, in finding cures for dread diseases such as AIDS and cancer is important but the impact is minimal. The main player in this regard is the private sector in general, and the pharmaceutical industry specifically. Read more >>

Tobacco displays increase the odds of teens becoming smokers

Young people who find tobacco displays in shops attractive and who easily recall seeing the displays have a greater chance of becoming a smoker according to a new Cancer Research UK-funded research study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research recently. Read more >>

A good laugh with others really does ease the pain, says study

Having a good laugh with friends really does help us to deal with pain, suggests a new study. The international research team, led by Oxford University, found that when we laugh properly, as opposed to producing a polite titter, the physical exertion leaves us exhausted and thereby triggers the release of protective endorphins. Read more >>

Kids taught the benefits of healthy eating

[Pearl Boshomane] Grade two learners at an underprivileged Cape Town school were taught something that's not in their usual curriculum: organic gardening. Read more >>

NUTRITION: Let agriculture "do no harm"

DAKAR: Agriculture is about food production, but often projects ultimately hurt communities' health and nutrition. When the focus is tons and dollars, experts say, getting people the nutrients they need can be lost. Read more >>

Breast cancer - be aware this October

[Graham Anderson] Every year in South Africa, one in 29 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. While this is a leading form of cancer, the good news is that if you detect it early, chances are you will recover fully. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and all women should be made aware of the importance of doing breast self-examinations just after menstruation. Read more >>

R198m boost for maternal, child health care

PRETORIA: The South African Ministry of Health has secured an additional R198 million from the Department for International Development (DFID) in the UK to help the country strengthen maternal and child health service delivery. Read more >>