Latest news with #TygerbergHospital
News24
4 days ago
- News24
Bloody five days in Cape Town as 16 people killed in various shootings
Sixteen people were killed in a bloody five days in Cape Town this week, but no one has been arrested for the murders. The killings occurred in nine separate shootings. Many are believed to be gang-related. In the most recent shooting incident, a man was shot dead inside a Silver VW Polo vehicle close to Tygerberg Hospital in Francie Van Zijl Drive, Parow, on Friday morning. Western Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said Parow police found the man's body inside the vehicle when they arrived at the scene. 'The victim was declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel. The unknown suspects fled the scene in an undisclosed direction, and they are yet to be arrested. 'The motive for this attack is believed to be gang-related,' Swartbooi added. On Thursday, two people were shot dead in Viscount Avenue, Rocklands in Mitchells Plain, just after 21:00. According to Swartbooi, when police arrived at the scene they found the bullet-riddled bodies of two men, aged 37 and 40. 'According to reports, a black and grey vehicle stopped next to the victims and the occupant started shooting at the victims before fleeing the scene. Both victims were declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The motive for the attack is gang-related,' Swartbooi said. Also on Thursday, a 37-year-old man was shot dead in Buffalo Street, Eastridge, in Mitchells Plain. 'Upon arrival on the scene police found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds to his head. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The motive for the attack is believed to be gang-related. The suspect/s fled the scene and are yet to be arrested,' police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said. In Grassy Park on the same day, police responded to a shooting complaint in Fifth Avenue, Lotus River. There, they found the lifeless body of a 20-year-old man. 'Four other males between 20 and 72, who sustained gunshot wounds, were taken to a medical facility for medical treatment. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation and arrests are yet to be made,' Twigg said. READ | Cape Town man, 60, arrested for triple murder after house fire In an incident on Wednesday, a 23-year-old man was shot dead in Houston Place, Stratford Green, Eerste River. At the scene, according to Twigg, Kleinvlei police found that the victim had sustained gunshot wounds to his face. 'The suspect/s fled the scene and are yet to be arrested,' said Twigg, He added that the motive for the attack formed part of the police investigation. Also on Wednesday, four men aged 20 to 37, were gunned down in Overcome Heights, Muizenberg. 'While gangsterism has not been ruled out as a possible motive, investigators are pursuing all lines of enquiry in an effort to bring those responsible to justice,' Colonel Andrè Traut said. News24 previously reported that on Tuesday, three suspected hijackers were killed in a shootout with the police in Kosovo, Philippi hours after Nyanga police found the body of a woman in a hijacked car that operated as a taxi. According to police insiders, five armed men hijacked the vehicle while the woman was a passenger. A tip-off later led police to the Kosovo informal settlement, where three people opened fire on them from inside a shack. Police returned fire, killing them. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is probing the matter. IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping confirmed the incident and added that 'it has registered the case in question, and our investigation is in its infancy stage'. Also on Tuesday, Strandfontein police responded to a complaint of a shooting in Watussi Street in Bayview where a 38-year-old man was shot dead and a 40-year-old man was wounded. The injured man was taken to a medical facility for treatment. 'According to reports, the victims were sitting in the play park when a grey vehicle stopped and the occupants got out of the vehicle [and] opened fire on the victims, before fleeing the scene,' said Twigg. On Monday, the body of a 29-year-old man who had gunshot wounds to his body, was found in Benfica Street in Tafelsig. 'The suspect/s fled the scene and are yet to be arrested. 'The motive for the attack is yet to be determined,' said Twigg. Anyone with any information on the shootings can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
IOL News
4 days ago
- IOL News
Gang-related violence escalates in Parow with daylight shooting
Parow has once again been thrown into turmoil after a man was gunned down in broad daylight on Fransie van Zyl Drive on Friday morning, just metres away from the Tygerberg Hospital. Police said they were called to the scene just before 08:00, where they found the victim inside a car with gunshot wounds. He was declared dead on the scene by paramedics. The shooters fled in an undisclosed direction and remain at large. The killing is believed to be gang-related, adding to a surge of violence that has rattled the Northern Suburbs. In videos and pictures circulating on social media, a silver VW Polo seemed to have slammed into a robot, while a clear bullet hole on the driver side door can be seen. The passenger window is also broken, from what seems to be a bullet piercing.
IOL News
15-07-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Transforming lives: the impact of reconstructive surgery on children with cleft conditions
Anzelle before her surgery Image: Supplied This month marks National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month, a crucial time for illuminating the challenges faced by children born with conditions such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and various craniofacial anomalies. These conditions not only affect a child's physical growth but also have profound implications for their emotional and psychological well-being. In South Africa, a collaborative effort involving the Smile Foundation, Tygerberg Hospital, and the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital is dedicated to raising awareness and providing the much-needed reconstructive surgeries that can dramatically alter young lives. As Professor Nick Kairinos, the head of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Tygerberg Hospital, states, 'These are not just cosmetic procedures; they are life-saving and life-changing.' The impact of these surgeries is underscored by the number of congenital anomaly operations performed at these hospitals, a record that surpasses any other facility in the country. Surgeons from both the public sector and private practice voluntarily dedicate their time to perform these surgeries through initiatives such as Smile Weeks, which the Smile Foundation actively supports. This collaboration focuses on conditions like craniofacial deformities, cleft lip and palate, congenital hand anomalies, and congenital ear defects. Many children would otherwise face insurmountable delays or, regrettably, would not receive the care they desperately need. Understanding the Challenge Cleft and craniofacial conditions can often be diagnosed during pregnancy or immediately after birth. Early detection allows families and healthcare providers to swiftly devise an intervention plan, setting children on a trajectory for better long-term health. Without prompt treatment, these children are at risk of severe complications, including feeding difficulties, recurrent ear infections, hearing loss, and delays in speech development. In some cases, the social ramifications can gravely affect their confidence and sense of belonging. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading One poignant testament to the transformative power of surgery comes from one-year-old Anzelle from Bellville, whose cleft palate was identified at birth. Her mother, Nicole, recalls the emotional highs and lows of their journey. 'When I first saw her, I didn't care about the cleft; I was just so happy to meet my baby. I knew God would make a way. I've been with her through every operation and recovery, and today we share an amazing bond. I wouldn't change a thing.' Anzelle after surgery Image: Supplied These surgeries do much more than just mend physical anomalies; they restore a sense of dignity and empower children with the ability to eat, speak, and smile confidently, free from pain or shame. Compounding the challenges of craniofacial health, craniosynostosis occurs in about 1 in every 2,500 births, a condition where a baby's skull bones fuse prematurely. This often leads to abnormal skull shapes, increased pressure on the brain, and potential long-term intellectual impairments if not treated in a timely manner. Three-year-old Caleb from Blue Downs underwent a highly intricate cranial surgery at Tygerberg Hospital last year. His mother, Rufaro, shares her fears and eventual relief through the experience: 'I was scared and confused when I first heard the diagnosis. But the care and expertise we received gave me strength and hope.' Caleb after surgery Image: Supplied Professor Kairinos explains that craniosynostosis surgeries involve the elaborate process of removing sections of the skull, reshaping them, and reattaching them to safeguard the brain while allowing for normal growth. This type of surgery necessitates a collaborative effort from both neurosurgeons and plastic surgeons. Both mothers, Nicole and Rufaro, expressed immense gratitude towards the medical teams that guided their children through these crucial surgical milestones. Rufaro encourages other parents to remain vigilant. 'If you notice anything unusual in your baby's face or head shape, speak to your healthcare provider. Early help can make all the difference.' The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness commended the unwavering dedication of public health professionals and partners who tirelessly work to give children a renewed chance at a healthy, fulfilling life. 'Together, we strive to build a health system of hope, ensuring that every child receives the care they deserve.'
News24
06-06-2025
- Health
- News24
Missed, misunderstood, and deadly: A Cape Town family's heartbreak with hepatitis B
When Desmond Pedro discovered a strange hardness under his ribcage, he was just 30 and preparing for a fresh start on a government skills course. Little did he know that he would soon die of liver cancer caused by undetected hepatitis B. Spotlight spent time with his family and spoke to experts to uncover how this overlooked virus continues to claim lives. Desmond Pedro was getting ready to attend a course at a college in Bellville in Cape Town when he noticed a hardness under his ribcage. The 30-year-old unemployed father of two small children hoped to learn skills on the government-sponsored boiler-making course. The strange condition worried him. When Desmond first went to a clinic, nurses said it wasn't serious and gave him laxatives for constipation. He returned three times and got the same response. On his fourth visit, Desmond's wife went with him, and she insisted on a scan. Two weeks later, while on his way to college, he returned to receive the results. His older brother, Mario tells the story: 'When he arrived, the clinic staff wouldn't let him leave. An ambulance took him to Tygerberg Hospital. We visited him that night but were told nothing. We felt helpless.' About a week later, Desmond asked Mario to meet him at Tygerberg's oncology unit, where a doctor delivered the news of his diagnosis. 'When I arrived, he was in agony and couldn't stand up straight. This had all happened within two to three weeks. A porter brought a wheelchair, and we went into the doctor's office where the doctor told us hepatitis B had brought on Desmond's liver cancer.' Hepatitis means that the liver is swollen or irritated. This can happen for many reasons, such as infections from viruses or bacteria, parasites, injuries, or when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the liver. Viral hepatitis is a type of liver inflammation caused by a virus. There are five main types: A, B, C, D and E. As Spotlight previously reported, new, highly effective cures for hepatitis C are slowly becoming more widely available in South Africa. Where did it come from? Until Desmond's cancer diagnosis, he had no idea that he was carrying the hepatitis B virus in his body, nor where he contracted it. The virus is transmitted from person to person through blood, semen or other body fluids. It can, for instance, be passed from pregnant women infected with the hepatitis B virus to their babies during childbirth, through sexual contact with an infected person, sharing of needles carrying traces of infected blood, and accidental needlestick injuries in health workers working with people who have the virus. After Desmond's diagnosis, his entire family were tested. Mario said: Both myself and my youngest brother, Johan tested positive for hepatitis B. To this day, we don't know where we got it or if we ever had the vaccine. 'At the time, I was 33. My mother was negative, as were our wives and all the children. For Desmond, it was too late.' Once infected, some people have strong enough immune systems to fight off the infection and usually clear it within six months. This is called acute or short-term infection. People who get infected as adults normally have acute infections. In long-term or chronic cases, it lasts more than six months and can lead to liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis - a condition where scar tissue has replaced healthy tissue to such an extent that the liver can no longer function. The younger a person is when they contract the virus, the higher their risk of the condition becoming chronic, particularly in the case of newborn babies or children under five. In most cases, people with chronic infection show no symptoms for years until they become seriously ill from liver disease. A silent killer One of the reasons that viral hepatitis can go undetected, as it did for Desmond, is that it is often asymptomatic. Symptoms, for those who do get them, can start as soon as two weeks after infection and include stomach pain, joint pain, fever, extreme fatigue, dark urine and jaundice - a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. Professor Mark Sonderup, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Division of Hepatology at the University of Cape Town, explains that with chronic inflammation in the liver, the body's attempt to heal the inflammation drives scarring, or fibrosis, of the liver. Over 10, 20 or 30 years, he says, there's a serious risk of cirrhosis. ALSO READ | Stem cell transplant recovery hinges on living conditions - transplant donor organisation 'The other risk of hepatitis B, which increases dramatically as the scarring worsens, is that because the virus is a DNA virus and inserts itself into the DNA of the liver cell, it dramatically increases the risk of liver cancer which is why hepatitis B accounts for most liver cancer in the world.' Sonderup says hepatitis B is endemic in South Africa and the region. He cites figures pegging the country's chronic infection rate at just below 5%, which suggests there are in the region of three million people living with the infection in South Africa. Most cases can be treated Chronic infection can usually be treated successfully with antiviral medicines if diagnosed in time. These medicines have to be taken for life since they suppress, but do not eliminate the virus. For acute infection there are much fewer treatment options. Those with serious liver damage often need a liver transplant. Since their diagnosis, Mario and Johan have been going to the Groote Schuur Liver Clinic where he says they are in good hands. 'They've been there for us from the start,' says Mario. The brothers are both on tenofovir, an anti-retroviral used to treat chronic hepatitis B infection. READ MORE | Why most people in South Africa can't get the shingles vaccine 'We take one tiny tablet a day, which suppresses our viral load and has no side effects. I take my tablet religiously at the same time every night.' Tenofovir is also part of standard HIV treatment in South Africa. As such, it is taken by more than five million people in the country, some of whom will happen to have undiagnosed hepatitis B infection. Sadly, Desmond's diagnosis came too late for antiviral treatment to save him. Mario recalls: I'll never forget the look on Desmond's face when the doctor said there was nothing they could do. 'The liver cancer was aggressive. He died at home about four weeks later. The time between getting his results and passing away was about two months.' It is for this reason that Mario has become such a passionate advocate for hepatitis B testing. 'All it takes is a simple blood test, and if it's caught in time, you take one small tablet daily. There are no side effects and you're good to go,' he says. Mario reckons nurses testing for HIV should be testing for hepatitis B at the same time. A highly effective vaccine One piece of good news is that many people in South Africa, especially those younger than 30 years of age, would have been vaccinated against the hepatitis B virus as babies. The South African government began rolling out the vaccine in 1995, starting with a three-dose schedule for babies, administered at 6, 10, and 14 weeks. 'It took a while to reach full coverage across the entire country. To date, our numbers lag a little behind, in that full three dose coverage is somewhere in the mid 80 percent in South Africa,' says Sonderup. 'This is pretty decent, except that we do have babies born to women who are inadvertently chronically infected, and there's a full six-week period before the first dose of vaccine is given.' READ MORE | The US funded 40% of SA's data capturers: Why losing them is so dangerous In other words, there's a six-week gap before babies receive their first hepatitis B vaccine, leaving them unprotected during that time. This is why Sonderup recommends giving a vaccine birth dose within the first 24 hours after birth alongside the standard polio and BCG vaccines all newborns receive. 'This would be followed by the second, third and fourth doses at 6,10 and 14 weeks. This has been shown to completely shut down that potential six-week period where a baby may be exposed,' he says. A phased approach Dr Kgomotso Vilakazi-Nhlapo, the top hepatitis official in the National Department of Health, agrees that a birth dose is important. However, she says that due to resource challenges, the department has opted for a phased approach. 'Instead of starting with the implementation of the universal hepatitis B birth dose vaccination, we test all pregnant women for the hepatitis B virus, treat those who are hepatitis B positive (and HIV negative) and offer the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine to newborn babies of pregnant women who tested positive for hepatitis B,' she says. According to Vilakazi-Nhlapo, this approach was implemented in April 2023 in all public health facilities but by the end of December 2024, they were only testing about 50% of pregnant women. READ MORE | Common weed shows potential to fight cancer, UJ researchers find 'This meant that women among the 50 percent who were not tested could be positive for hepatitis B and be transmitting the infection to their babies,' she says. 'Of course, it would be preferable to give a universal birth dose to all newborns, but, unfortunately, the budget and human resources remains an issue.' Vilakazi-Nhlapo estimates that with around a million births per year and hepatitis B prevalence of around 5%, every year in the region of 50 000 women living with the virus are giving birth in South Africa. What to do Sonderup says the solutions to South Africa's hepatitis B problem are neither complex nor overly expensive. 'Firstly,' he says, 'we need to fully implement the universal birth dose vaccination; secondly, we need to ensure children complete their vaccine schedule in total, thirdly we need to screen pregnant woman and link them to additional care.' He also says that in a country where almost 5% of people are living with the virus, everyone should be screened for hepatitis B at least once as we do with regular HIV testing. 'This can be done through a simple finger prick test and it's not expensive. People should at least know their status,' Sonderup says. South Africa's key hepatitis B policy document is the viral hepatitis treatment guidelines published in 2019. Sonderup, who was involved in the development of the guidelines, is concerned about its implementation. He blames 'policy inertia' and competition for limited resources for the country not having made greater progress against hepatitis B. 'But we can actually do a great deal with not very much, with significant impact, to eliminate a virus that continues to cause significant havoc,' he says. 'A shortage of resources, staff, and skills' For her part, Vilakazi-Nhlapo blames a lack of 'resources, staff, and skills' for there not being more progress. She says there is only one other person working with her on hepatitis at the national level, and no dedicated staff at provincial health departments. 'We work mainly with NGOs and civil society. Provincial physicians have helped us greatly to do our work but it's not enough,' Vilakazi-Nhlapo says. 'There is still insufficient knowledge both among healthcare workers and within communities about hepatitis B. For now, patients with hepatitis B are referred to hospitals … but the reality is that, if primary healthcare staff are managing HIV patients, they can manage hepatitis B patients,' she says. She adds that they are trying to integrate hepatitis into other health programmes, such as those for maternal and child health. 'Everyone should know their status' Back in Cape Town, Mario, now 45, says he feels healthy apart from the normal aches and pains associated with his age. He has become an advocate for more awareness about hepatitis B. 'We'd never have known we had it if this hadn't happened to my brother. It's a silent killer. Someone could be dying of it right now without knowing. Everyone should know their status,' he says.
Eyewitness News
04-06-2025
- General
- Eyewitness News
Missed, misunderstood, and deadly: A Cape Town family's heartbreak with hepatitis B
Desmond Pedro was getting ready to attend a course at a college in Bellville in Cape Town when he noticed a hardness under his ribcage. The 30-year-old unemployed father of two small children hoped to learn skills on the government-sponsored boiler-making course. The strange condition worried him. When Desmond first went to a clinic, nurses said it wasn't serious and gave him laxatives for constipation. He returned three times and got the same response. On his fourth visit, Desmond's wife went with him, and she insisted on a scan. Two weeks later, while on his way to college, he returned to receive the results. His older brother, Mario tells the story: 'When he arrived, the clinic staff wouldn't let him leave. An ambulance took him to Tygerberg Hospital. We visited him that night but were told nothing. We felt helpless.' About a week later, Desmond asked Mario to meet him at Tygerberg's oncology unit, where a doctor delivered the news of his diagnosis. 'When I arrived, he was in agony and couldn't stand up straight. This had all happened within two to three weeks. A porter brought a wheelchair, and we went into the doctor's office where the doctor told us hepatitis B had brought on Desmond's liver cancer.' Hepatitis means that the liver is swollen or irritated. This can happen for many reasons, such as infections from viruses or bacteria, parasites, injuries, or when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the liver. Viral hepatitis is a type of liver inflammation caused by a virus. There are five main types: A, B, C, D and E. As Spotlight previously reported, new, highly effective cures for hepatitis C are slowly becoming more widely available in South Africa. WHERE DID IT COME FROM? Until Desmond's cancer diagnosis, he had no idea that he was carrying the hepatitis B virus in his body, nor where he contracted it. The virus is transmitted from person to person through blood, semen or other body fluids. It can, for instance, be passed from pregnant women infected with the hepatitis B virus to their babies during childbirth, through sexual contact with an infected person, sharing of needles carrying traces of infected blood, and accidental needlestick injuries in health workers working with people who have the virus. After Desmond's diagnosis, his entire family were tested. 'Both myself and my youngest brother, Johan tested positive for hepatitis B. To this day, we don't know where we got it or if we ever had the vaccine,' says Mario. 'At the time, I was 33. My mother was negative, as were our wives and all the children. For Desmond, it was too late.' Once infected, some people have strong enough immune systems to fight off the infection and usually clear it within six months. This is called acute or short-term infection. People who get infected as adults normally have acute infections. In long-term or chronic cases, it lasts more than six months and can lead to liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis – a condition where scar tissue has replaced healthy tissue to such an extent that the liver can no longer function. The younger a person is when they contract the virus, the higher their risk of the condition becoming chronic, particularly in the case of newborn babies or children under five. In most cases, people with chronic infection show no symptoms for years until they become seriously ill from liver disease. A SILENT KILLER One of the reasons that viral hepatitis can go undetected, as it did for Desmond, is that it is often asymptomatic. Symptoms, for those who do get them, can start as soon as two weeks after infection and include stomach pain, joint pain, fever, extreme fatigue, dark urine and jaundice – a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. Professor Mark Sonderup, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Division of Hepatology at the University of Cape Town, explains that with chronic inflammation in the liver, the body's attempt to heal the inflammation drives scarring, or fibrosis, of the liver. Over ten, twenty or thirty years, he says, there's a serious risk of cirrhosis. Sonderup says hepatitis B is endemic in South Africa and the region. He cites figures pegging the country's chronic infection rate at just below 5% which suggests there are in the region of three million people living with the infection in South Africa. MOST CASES CAN BE TREATED Chronic infection can usually be treated successfully with antiviral medicines if diagnosed in time. These medicines have to be taken for life since they suppress, but do not eliminate the virus. For acute infection there are much fewer treatment options. Those with serious liver damage often need a liver transplant. Since their diagnosis, Mario and Johan have been going to the Groote Schuur Liver Clinic where he says they are in good hands. 'They've been there for us from the start,' says Mario. The brothers are both on tenofovir, an anti-retroviral used to treat chronic hepatitis B infection. 'We take one tiny tablet a day, which suppresses our viral load and has no side effects. I take my tablet religiously at the same time every night.' Tenofovir is also part of standard HIV treatment in South Africa. As such, it is taken by more than five million people in the country, some of whom will happen to have undiagnosed hepatitis B infection. Sadly, Desmond's diagnosis came too late for antiviral treatment to save him. 'I'll never forget the look on Desmond's face when the doctor said there was nothing they could do,' Mario recalls. 'The liver cancer was aggressive. He died at home about four weeks later. The time between getting his results and passing away was about two months.' It is for this reason that Mario has become such a passionate advocate for hepatitis B testing. 'All it takes is a simple blood test, and if it's caught in time, you take one small tablet daily. There are no side effects and you're good to go,' he says. Mario reckons nurses testing for HIV should be testing for hepatitis B at the same time. A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE VACCINE One piece of good news is that many people in South Africa, especially those younger than 30 years of age, would have been vaccinated against the hepatitis B virus as babies. The South African government began rolling out the vaccine in 1995, starting with a three-dose schedule for babies, administered at 6, 10, and 14 weeks. 'It took a while to reach full coverage across the entire country. To date, our numbers lag a little behind, in that full three dose coverage is somewhere in the mid 80 percent in South Africa,' says Sonderup. 'This is pretty decent, except that we do have babies born to women who are inadvertently chronically infected, and there's a full six-week period before the first dose of vaccine is given.' In other words, there's a six-week gap before babies receive their first hepatitis B vaccine, leaving them unprotected during that time. This is why Sonderup recommends giving a vaccine birth dose within the first 24 hours after birth alongside the standard polio and BCG vaccines all newborns receive. 'This would be followed by the second, third and fourth doses at 6,10 and 14 weeks. This has been shown to completely shut down that potential six-week period where a baby may be exposed,' he says. A PHASED APPROACH Dr Kgomotso Vilakazi-Nhlapo, the top hepatitis official in the National Department of Health, agrees that a birth dose is important. However, she says that due to resource challenges, the department has opted for a phased approach. According to Vilakazi-Nhlapo, this approach was implemented in April 2023 in all public health facilities but by the end of December 2024, they were only testing about 50% of pregnant women. 'This meant that women among the 50 percent who were not tested could be positive for hepatitis B and be transmitting the infection to their babies,' she says. 'Of course, it would be preferable to give a universal birth dose to all newborns, but, unfortunately, the budget and human resources remains an issue.' Vilakazi-Nhlapo estimates that with around a million births per year and hepatitis B prevalence of around 5%, every year in the region of 50 000 women living with the virus are giving birth in South Africa. WHAT TO DO Sonderup says the solutions to South Africa's hepatitis B problem are neither complex nor overly expensive. 'Firstly,' he says, 'we need to fully implement the universal birth dose vaccination; secondly, we need to ensure children complete their vaccine schedule in total, thirdly we need to screen pregnant woman and link them to additional care.' He also says that in a country where almost 5% of people are living with the virus, everyone should be screened for hepatitis B at least once as we do with regular HIV testing. 'This can be done through a simple finger prick test and it's not expensive. People should at least know their status,' Sonderup says. South Africa's key hepatitis B policy document is the viral hepatitis treatment guidelines published in 2019. Sonderup, who was involved in the development of the guidelines, is concerned about its implementation. He blames 'policy inertia' and competition for limited resources for the country not having made greater progress against hepatitis B. 'But we can actually do a great deal with not very much, with significant impact, to eliminate a virus that continues to cause significant havoc,' he says. 'A SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES, STAFF AND SKILLS' For her part, Vilakazi-Nhlapo blames a lack of 'resources, staff, and skills' for there not being more progress. She says there is only one other person working with her on hepatitis at the national level, and no dedicated staff at provincial health departments. 'We work mainly with NGOs and civil society. Provincial physicians have helped us greatly to do our work but it's not enough,' Vilakazi-Nhlapo says. 'There is still insufficient knowledge both among healthcare workers and within communities about hepatitis B. For now, patients with hepatitis B are referred to hospitals … but the reality is that, if primary healthcare staff are managing HIV patients, they can manage hepatitis B patients,' she says. She adds that they are trying to integrate hepatitis into other health programmes, such as those for maternal and child health. 'EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW THEIR STATUS' Back in Cape Town, Mario, now 45, says he feels healthy apart from the normal aches and pains associated with his age. He has become an advocate for more awareness about hepatitis B. 'We'd never have known we had it if this hadn't happened to my brother. It's a silent killer. Someone could be dying of it right now without knowing. Everyone should know their status,' he says. This article first appeared on Spotlight. Read the original article here.
