Since the introduction of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in March 2020, South Africa has experienced three epidemic waves with the Beta and Delta variants of concern (VOCs) dominating the second and third waves, respectively. On 24 November 2021, the Network for Genomics Surveillance of South Africa (NGS-SA) reported a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 […]
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on international malaria control and elimination efforts. According to the latest World Malaria Report, there were an estimated 14 million more cases of malaria in 2020 compared to 2019. Even more concerning was the marked increase in malaria-related deaths. These were mainly in children under the
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, continues to monitor developments around the newly emerged Omicron variant. “The number of new COVID-19 cases and the percent positivity continue to increase, likely due to spread of the Omicron variant. At this stage, scientists are trying to establish if
Limit the risk of COVID-19 transmission by avoiding super spreader events Read More »
The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA, www.ngs-sa.org), which includes the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), KRISP at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), University of Cape Town (UCT), Stellenbosch University (SUN), the University of the Free State (UFS), the University of Pretoria, the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) and the National Health
Frequently asked questions for the B.1.1.529 mutated SARS-CoV-2 lineage in South Africa Read More »
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, confirms that through collaborative efforts with private laboratories and the NGS-SA members, a new COVID-19 variant, B.1.1.529, has been detected in South Africa. Twenty-two positive cases of variant B.1.1.529 have been recorded in the country following genomic sequencing collaborations between
In October and November 2021, six cases of human rabies were confirmed from the Eastern Cape (n=4), Kwa-Zulu Natal (n=1) and Limpopo (n=1) provinces. In addition, several suspected cases from these areas are under investigation at the time of this report. As of 23 November 2021, a total of seventeen laboratory-confirmed human rabies cases have
Increase in human rabies cases in South Africa (24 November 2021) Read More »
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, has observed an increase in the 7-day moving average for new COVID-19 cases and the percentage testing positive in Gauteng, particularly in Tshwane amongst 10 – 29 year olds over the past week. Additionally, the NICD has recently identified a
What is Cough Check? Cough Check is a Self-swabbing Pilot Study, which aims to come to patient’s homes and give them the chance to test themselves. Patients will be given a ‘swab’ which looks like a cotton swab or Q-Tip but thinner with a longer plastic stick. They are given instructions on how to perform
A steady increase in the number of influenza cases from week 34 (week starting 23 August 2021) with a sharp increase in week 44 (week starting 1 November 2021) has been reported from the influenza-like illness (ILI) and pneumonia (hospitalised cases) surveillance sentinel sites. In addition, private laboratories have reported an increase in influenza case
ALERT: Increase in influenza cases in South Africa Read More »
Jaishree Raman, National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Shüné Oliver, National Institute for Communicable Diseases There were dire warnings that malaria cases would surge across Africa after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic in early March 2020. Many felt that the already overburdened healthcare systems would not be
The seven steps South Africa is taking to get it closer to eliminating malaria Read More »
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The Public Health Bulletin South Africa (PHBSA) website is hosted by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH), divisions of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). The PHBSA website is funded jointly by the NICD and the US CDC Foundation and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.
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