South Africans at increasing risk of vision loss
With an ever-growing number of South Africans diagnosed with diabetes and an ageing population, loss of vision due to diabetic eye complications and age-related visual conditions is on the rise. Diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that damages the blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye, is the leading cause of vision loss globally.
Drones boost healthcare supply chains
Health workers serving remote communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must often undertake a six-day return journey to collect vaccines, traversing dense tropical forests and often the raging Congo River and its tributaries. Drone technology is offering a lifesaving solution to the challenges, including helping to ensure that cold chains are maintained, and vaccine quality is not compromised.
Healthier lifestyles can prevent or delay dementia
More than 50-million people globally live with dementia, a figure expected to treble in the next 30 years, but up to 40% of cases could be prevented or delayed by reducing risks – including getting exercise, eating healthily, and staying mentally fit and socially active.
Rupanase® Allergy Nasal Spray now available in South Africa
New Rupanase® Allergy Nasal Spray reduces symptoms of allergic rhinitis and strengthens cell membranes to fight against a variety of viral infections.
Honour the “brave”: celebrating the next generation of healthcare professionals
Season 2 of ‘Sponsors of Brave’ is now open for nominations – calling all aspiring, current, or recently graduated and community service healthcare students boldly and bravely changing the world around them.
South Africans should prioritise gut health as a focus area for intervention to achieve their nutrition and health goals
The One Health Summit themed Your Gut’s Instinct took place on the 27th of August 2020. The event, hosted in webinar format given the current COVID-19 context, was attended by 500 healthcare professionals and key opinion leaders. Two renowned international experts and South Africa’s own Mpho Tshukudu, a registered dietitian with a special interest in South Africa’s food culture and heritage, shared developing science on the topic of gut health, and applied relevance for the South African context, considering local beliefs, behaviours and dietary practices.
COVID-19 places supply chain management under spotlight warns Ikhaya
As the pharmaceutical industry eagerly anticipates the creation and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine and the pandemic itself shines a spotlight on health and safety issues, companies will need to be increasingly vigilant when it comes to maintaining the cold chain during the storage and transportation of sensitive products, says Eckart Zollner, sales and marketing director of Ikhaya Automation Systems.
Raising a red flag about angina – an under-recognised and under-treated disorder
As we enter Heart Awareness Month, we know the burden of cardiovascular disease continues to grow in South Africa. However, angina, often a sign of more serious cardiovascular disease, commonly goes under-recognised and under-treated.
World Alzheimer’s Month: Understand the 10 warning signs and symptoms of dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, and this September, for World Alzheimer’s Month, Livewell aims to encourage understanding, reduce stigma, and raise awareness around this common, yet devastating disease.
New hope for SA cancer patients
The approval of a breakthrough cancer medicine for a wider range of conditions offers renewed hope for South African patients battling this dreaded disease.
KEYTRUDA® previously used to treat metastatic melanoma and second line metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), has been approved for the treatment of bladder cancer and first-line NSCLC by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).
Imperial makes strategic investment in South African based healthcare manufacturing business
Effective August 2020, Imperial acquired a 49% shareholding in Pharmafrique (Pty) Ltd (trading as Kiara Health). Kiara Health is an African pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare services company based in Johannesburg. It serves as the local, non-exclusive manufacturing partner for a global leader in generic and biosimilar medicines and as a commercial partner for several global pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. The investment is in line with Imperial’s strategy to backward integrate into contract manufacturing as part of our market access service to multinationals on the continent.
The role of HVAC in a pandemic
What role will your companies HAVC system play if Coronavirus particles can become airborne and travel distances greater than the stipulated social distance and dispense into the air? This, coupled with the debate that HVAC systems are snowballing the infection rates needs to be settled with facts.
Rooibos industry donates 78 000 cups of tea to boost morale at hospitals as brave doctors and nurses battle the coronavirus pandemic
Health care workers have been the true heroes fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, working tirelessly and often extra-long hours to care for their patients. These heroes bear the brunt as they risk their lives daily to fulfil their duties, as the pandemic continues. As a token of appreciation, the South African Rooibos Council has donated 78 000 cups of tea to the staff at six designated COVID-19 hospitals in Cape Town, Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal – to keep staff hydrated and healthy during their tea breaks.
dormakaba’s E200 sliding door operator supports global healthcare
Access control and security specialist dormakaba has developed a range of sliding door operator systems that is robust, effective, fully automated and designed to minimise human contact.
Female’s bear the brunt of dementia burden; let’s thank them.
This Women’s Month (August 2020), Livewell – a specialist dementia care provider – want to acknowledge the women caregivers and the women living with dementia. They are running a competition to highlight the role of female caregivers across South Africa.