Author name: Pii Digital

Alert: EHEC and HUS Outbreak in Germany   A large ongoing outbreak of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and resultant cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) has been observed in northern Germany in recent weeks. The causative pathogen has been identified as EHEC O104:H4, a relatively rare serogroup of Shiga-toxin (a.k.a. verotoxin) producing E. coli (STEC/VTEC). […]

02 June 2011 Rotavirus infections are most common in children under two years of age. While children may be reinfected with rotavirus numerous times during childhood, it is the first infection that often results in severe disease and dehydration necessitating hospitalisation. Efforts to improve sanitation and access to clean water do not reduce the incidence

On 31st May each year WHO celebrates World No Tobacco Day, highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce consumption. For more information, click on the document below. Time to Quit

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that a billion deaths can be prevented in this century, if governments act now to reduce tobacco use. In a call for action ahead of World No-Tobacco Day, which is on Tuesday May 31, WHO has urged governments around the world to accelerate the implementation of laws against tobacco

The Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, and NHLS CEO, Sagie Pillay, talking to staff at Prince Mshiyeni lab On World TB Day on 24 March, Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi unveiled the high-tech GeneXpert tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic instrument at the NHLS’ Prince Mshiyeni Hospital laboratory in KwaZulu-Natal. South Africa is the first African country to

 04 May 2011 A courier vehicle was hijacked on May 3 between Oliver Tambo International airport and premises of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Sandringham, Johannesburg. The vehicle was recovered on Satyn Hout Road in Esther Park (next to the Greenstone Mall area), but unfortunately the package destined for the National Institute for

Following extended negotiations between the Western Cape Department of Health, University of Stellenbosch, National Health Laboratory Service and the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Germany, a new mobile diagnostic laboratory with bio safety level (BSL) 3 was unveiled in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town on 16 March 2011.   Premier Helen Zille, officially received the mobile

In South Africa the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, requires the employer to bring about and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a work environment that is safe and without risk to the health of the workers. This means that the employer must ensure that the workplace is free of hazardous substances, such as