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Respiratory
CDC updates age criteria for RSV jabs
The US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention has narrowed its recommendation for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines in older adults this year –...
Tirzepatide effective for obstructive sleep apnoea – US study
An international collaboration has suggested that tirzepatide, known to manage type 2 diabetes, could be the first effective drug therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea...
NDoH looks to artificial intelligence in quest to combat TB
The National Department of Health is considering the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to expedite the screening and diagnosis of TB and silicosis, after...
Mexican man dies from new H5N2 bird flu variant
A Mexican man, 59, has died after being infected with a bird flu subtype never before confirmed to have spread to humans, the World...
Face masks for school as RSV cases surge
Authorities in the Western Cape Health Department have sounded a warning about respiratory infections among children, which have risen in the past month and...
Scientists uncover cause of severe Covid lung disease
A recent study has shed light on the mystery of why, in some severe Covid-19 cases, the lungs undergo extreme damage, resulting in various...
Asthma drug warning stepped up after 500 children react
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says more prominent warnings would be added to the information provided on boxes of the asthma...
High-dose vitamin A no help for babies’ severe lung disease
Another trial of high dose enteral vitamin A supplementation was unable to reduce bronchopulmonary dysplasia rates in very low birthweight babies, with scientists suggesting...
Don’t panic, say experts as HIV drug flagged for resistance
Results from recent studies reveal the emergence of resistance in subsets of HIV patients to dolutegravir – an antiretroviral commonly used in South Africa...
UK team finds new cause of asthma airways damage
A team of British scientists has found a new cause behind much of the damage caused by asthma, offering a faint glimmer of hope...
Multiple forms of long Covid hamper diagnosis
Thousands of people around the world may be suffering from long Covid but are not being diagnosed or treated, say experts, because symptoms can...
New TB framework for improved diagnosis and care
A new framework may better characterise the early stages of tuberculosis (TB) and improve research and clinical care, an international team of researchers has...
Rise in psittacosis cases in Europe
The World Health Organisation has issued an outbreak notice after reports from five European countries of an unexpected rise in infections involving psittacosis, a...
Paediatric ‘white lung pneumonia’ cases surge in US, Denmark, China
An area in Ohio, US, is experiencing a surge of paediatric pneumonia, including mycoplasma pneumonia – also known as white lung pneumonia – which...
Long colds just as common as long Covid, UK researchers say
Researchers in London have suggested that long colds do, in fact, exist and are just as common as long Covid, with their study showing...
Kenyan study flags dangers of asthma inhaler over-use
Recent research in Kenya has highlighted the issue of over-prescription and over-use of asthma inhalers – used by millions of sufferers worldwide – with...
Combination therapy offers hope for CF sufferers – German study
A team of scientists has found that triple combination therapy may help reduce lung inflammation in patients with the hereditary disease cystic fibrosis (CF),...
First RSV jab for adults approved by FDA
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first-ever vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), marketed by GSK under the trade name...
Warning over portable oxygen devices sold online after US study
Respiratory specialists have issued an alert over portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) that are being sold online, warning that these products don’t work as well...
SA study flags growth stunt from paediatric TB
A child health investigation tracking risk factors for respiratory disease and other infections in children in the Western Cape has revealed new facts about...
Poor sleep linked to increased asthma risk – Chinese study
Sleeping badly has been linked to an inflammatory response in the body which increases the risk of asthma, say scientists from Shandong University in...
Significant drop in newborns' RSV risk with vaccine for pregnant women
A trial examining the effect of an RSV vaccine on pregnant women found it reduced – by 82% – the risk of severe lower...
Drug trial shows promising results for COPD sufferers
Sanofi’s prescription medicine Dupixent has helped patients with chronic lung disorders breathe better and regain lung function, opening a new avenue of growth for...
Link between childhood respiratory infections and early death – UK study
Scientists have found that respiratory infections, like bronchitis or pneumonia, in early childhood, will nearly double the risk of dying prematurely from respiratory diseases...
Moderna flu vaccine falls short – large trial
A large-scale trial for an experimental flu shot from Moderna has fallen short of other, currently approved vaccines, said the company last week, but...
High number of South African children with severe asthma – experts
Despite being one of the most common non-communicable diseases globally, with highly effective treatments available, asthma is often not well controlled in many low-resource...
Urgent need to improve asthma control worldwide – global study
Improved asthma control is an urgent need worldwide, particularly in children and in less affluent countries, says a group of scientists after a recent...
Study showing gas stove cooking linked to childhood asthma stirs debate
A study linking cooking with natural gas to about 12% of childhood asthma cases has ignited debate about the health risks of kitchen stoves,...
AI detects pneumonia through hearing a cough – Korean findings
New artificial intelligence-based technology can diagnose pneumonia by listening to someone cough, and scientists say if rolled out, people could diagnose themselves without going...
Persistent asthma linked to increased heart disease risk – US study
A recent study found that people with persistent asthma had higher levels of inflammation and more artery plaque than those without asthma, suggesting they...
Rodents may transmit fungal respiratory infections to humans – US study
Of all emerging diseases afflicting people around the globe, 75% are zoonotic (from animals), with a recent study from the US confirming that rats...
EV-D68, the respiratory virus that can paralyse children
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a spike in EV-D68, a contagious virus that in rare cases can lead...
High asthma risk for sons of fathers exposed to second-hand smoke – Australia study
Research has showed that fathers who smoke around their sons boost the asthma risk by nearly three-quarters for their future grandchildren – and not...
Urban youths’ asthma attacks decreased with mepolizumab – US clinical trial
A monoclonal antibody, mepolizumab, cut asthma attacks by 27% in black and Hispanic children and adolescents with severe asthma living in low-income urban neighbourhoods,...
Fibre-glass industry workers at high risk of chronic respiratory conditions – KZN study
A study carried out at a factory in Durban found that workers in the fibre-glass reinforcement industry are literally choking on plastic, with their...
Respiratory virus killing 100,000 children a year – systemic analysis
Recent research has cast the spotlight on a viral disease – the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – that is killing more than 100,000 children...
Inhaled steroids promote secretions which block treatment in severe asthma patients – US study
Patients with severe asthma produce special substances in their airways when taking medicine during an asthma attack that block the treatment from working.
Two different...
Prenatal BPA exposure linked to asthma in girls – Meta-analysis of 8 European birth cohorts
An analysis of data from more than 3,000 mother-child pairs from six European countries indicates that prenatal exposure to bisphenol A may have negative...
Pulse oximeters deliver unreliable readings across ethnic groups
A non-invasive test with a pulse oximeter provided false readings of nearly 7% higher in a group of mixed race patients with COVID-19, compared...
Zinc supplements may prevent respiratory tract infections and shorten duration — Trials meta-analysis
A zinc supplement might help stave off the symptoms of respiratory tract infections (RTI), such as coughing, congestion, and sore throat, and cut illness...