Blog

Dr Juno Thomas Dr Ahmad Mazanderani In light of level three nation-wide lockdown regulations, many businesses are reopening for the sale of goods and the rendering of services. This means that businesses need to comply with safety standards and protocols set out by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protect employees […]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many places of work including hotels, hostels, leisure facilities, offices, gyms and salons have had to close. Closure or restricted use of buildings or parts of buildings can increase the risk for Legionella growth in water systems and associated equipment if they are not managed adequately.  This alert highlights the

The world is increasingly facing the threat of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (EID) with viral RNA zoonotic pathogens playing a leading role. Biological, socio-economic, ecological and anthropogenic factors are creating conducive conditions for a storm of EIDs. Emerging zoonoses highlight the dangers of the ability of pathogens to constantly adapt, survive and infect populations

Children are a high-risk population prone to severe complications from malaria. Shutterstock Jaishree Raman, National Institute for Communicable Diseases Ridding the world of malaria in the near future is a very ambitious goal. Efforts to achieve it have already been weakened by governments shifting resources from malaria control and elimination initiatives to the fight against

  Community members wearing protective face masks as they queue for aid in Zandspruit informal settlement, north of Johannesburg. Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images Shaheen Mehtar, Stellenbosch University; Lucille Blumberg, University of the Witwatersrand, and Marc Mendelson, University of Cape Town Many countries, including South Africa and Nigeria in Africa, are moving to make it

The use of ‘fabric’ face masks as an additional preventative measure against COVID-19 has been recommended for public use by the National Department of Health (NDoH). The spread of COVID-19 is mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. Therefore, wearing a

The COVID-19 pandemic has a devastating impact on the immediate environment due to its fast spread via droplets from an infected person and from person to person. The virus can land on surfaces after an infected person sneezes, coughs or talks and can survive on surfaces for about nine days[1]. As such, precautions must be