News Articles
Overseas-trained doctors fast-tracked amid GP shortage
Date of Posting: 01-08-2023
Overseas-trained doctors are set to be fast-tracked to work in communities across Australia facing GP shortages. The nation's peak body for general practitioners says it will simplify its processes for international medical graduates as it tri Read More...
Hookworms may hold key to tackling type 2 diabetes
Date of Posting: 01-08-2023
Using live hookworms to combat diabetes may sound like a case of the treatment being worse than the disease, but researchers are hopeful their small trial will eventually lead to drugs to help people living with the condition. Hookworms remain a p Read More...
One in two to have mental health disorder by 75
Date of Posting: 31-07-2023
Mental health disorders are on the horizon for one in two people by the age of 75 after findings from an Australian co-led study spanning 29 countries. Researchers from the University of Queensland, in partnership with Harvard medical school, stud Read More...
Dr Clare Looker named Victoria's chief health officer
Date of Posting: 30-07-2023
Dr Clare Looker will be Victoria's next chief health officer as Professor Brett Sutton steps down from the role. Prof Sutton finished in the role on Friday, with Dr Looker to take over from Saturday for a 12-month term.[subscribe] Victoria& Read More...
UTI treatment added to NSW pharmacy prescribing trial
Date of Posting: 30-07-2023
Women suffering from urinary tract infections (UTIs) can now receive treatment and medicine without first having to see a GP. A NSW government trial treating basic health complaints at the local pharmacy is expanding from tomorrow to include women Read More...
Norway and Finland battle rapid spread of bird flu
Date of Posting: 30-07-2023
Norway and Finland are facing record outbreaks of bird flu which have killed thousands of seagulls and other species, put livestock at risk and restricted travel in some areas. Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has circulated throughout E Read More...
Social media platforms for plastic surgery - Could it be used more educationally?
Last Updated: 29-07-2023
Social media platforms have become an ever-growing source for gathering information as well as keeping connected with our friends and family. According to the Global Digital Report 2019, there are currently almost 3.5 billion social media users wo Read More...
Bangladesh fears record death toll from dengue outbreak
Date of Posting: 27-07-2023
Dengue is spreading rapidly through densely populated Bangladesh this rainy season, raising fears the mosquito-borne disease could result in a record number of deaths and infections for the second consecutive year. At least 201 people, more than h Read More...
National genome screening fast-tracks cancer treatment
Date of Posting: 27-07-2023
The lives of thousands of Australians battling incurable or advanced cancers could be saved or extended thanks to a pioneering national genomics initiative. More than 23,000 Australians living with cancer will be given free access to cutting-edge Read More...
Honey from Aussie ant has powerful healing properties
Date of Posting: 27-07-2023
Honey produced by a little-known Australian ant carries powerful medicinal properties that could be used to fight harmful bacteria and fungi. The honeypot ant, found in the deserts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, produces a honey Read More...
Homebirths to be introduced at Royal Women's Hospital
Date of Posting: 26-07-2023
A publicly-funded homebirth program is set to be introduced at Victoria's leading women's hospital. While the initiative is only in the planning stages, a Victorian government spokesman confirmed it was expanding its public homebirth progr Read More...
NSW paramedics take industrial action, reject pay offer
Date of Posting: 26-07-2023
Paramedics are renewing industrial action to protest a four per cent pay offer from the NSW government. Paramedics are refusing to enter patient billing information or report performance indicators, or attend special events which would place their Read More...
Man tests positive for MERS in Abu Dhabi near Oman
Date of Posting: 25-07-2023
A 28-year-old man has tested positive for the potentially fatal Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in a city in Abu Dhabi on the border with Oman, the World Health Organisation says. The man in the city of Al Ain was admitted to hospital Read More...
Warning of lingering harm amid rural pediatric squeeze
Date of Posting: 25-07-2023
Of all the ideas that might inspire a large-scale knitted yarn sculpture, medical anthropology seems pretty unlikely. But the work of textile artist Andrew Chan is on display in Brisbane as part of the world's most influential forum for HIV re Read More...
Warning of lingering harm amid rural pediatric squeeze
Date of Posting: 24-07-2023
Teachers at a NSW south coast school thought their young students were coping well after the Black Summer bushfires - until wild winds swept through the playground. Royal Far West chief executive Jacqui Emery was at the school after the catastroph Read More...
Australian first as woman joins global cancer trial
Date of Posting: 23-07-2023
When Marilyn de Haas was diagnosed with advanced skin cancer, doctors told her the melanoma and the tumours it had caused would not respond to chemotherapy or radiation. The 78-year-old from Stratford in southeast Victoria is the first Australian Read More...
WHO warns of dengue risk as global warming pushes cases
Date of Posting: 23-07-2023
The World Health Organization has warned cases of dengue fever could reach close to record highs this year, partly due to global warming benefiting mosquitoes that spread it. Dengue rates are rising globally, with reported cases since 2000 up eigh Read More...
Measles alert after cases visit hospital and shops
Date of Posting: 23-07-2023
An alert has been issued after two people who returned from overseas with measles visited several locations in Sydney while infectious. NSW Health has declared multiple premises exposure sites after the two confirmed cases, from the same family, v Read More...
Nurse's touch can help patients avoid hospital return
Date of Posting: 22-07-2023
Fewer vulnerable patients would be re-admitted to hospital if a local nurse could help them into medical services in their own community. A study by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians found the number of at-risk patients returning to hos Read More...
One in three Aussies at risk of severe heart disease
Date of Posting: 22-07-2023
Ever been told that having an "apple" body shape is less healthy than a pear-shaped body? Or that the most dangerous place to store fat is around your waist?[subscribe] Australians are being urged get out the tape measure and try not Read More...
NSW flu cases drop, concerns over school transmission
Date of Posting: 22-07-2023
Influenza cases have dropped across NSW but people are still being urged to get vaccinated. NSW Health said 6187 people contracted the virus in the past week, a 14 per cent decrease on the previous seven days.[subscribe] The biggest decline was Read More...
US-made dengue vaccine 100% effective
Last Updated: 21-07-2023
Scientists say the approach they have used in developing a new dengue vaccine could also work in creating a vaccine against the Zika virus. A dengue vaccine developed by US National Institutes of Health scientists protected everyone given the shot Read More...
Heat disrupts cancer tests for a million rural Aussies
Date of Posting: 20-07-2023
Hot weather could disrupt vital cancer screening for one million rural Australians, prompting calls for better public health education in country communities. The national bowel cancer screening program delivers home tests to Australians aged over Read More...
Falling cases put Australia on brink of eliminating HIV
Date of Posting: 20-07-2023
Australia has recorded a steady decline in rates of HIV over the past decade and could be on track to virtually eliminate the insidious disease. A slower reduction among some groups and a high rate of late detections are still troubling experts, h Read More...
People examined after NSW horse dies of Hendra virus
Date of Posting: 19-07-2023
An unvaccinated horse has died of the bat-borne Hendra virus in NSW, sparking inquiries into whether it passed to a human. The Hendra virus is often fatal in the rare cases it is detected in humans, usually after they had significant contact with Read More...
Life-changing muscular dystrophy trial 'beacon of hope'
Date of Posting: 19-07-2023
Four-year-old Hunter Payne enjoys running around and playing like any other boy his age. But a diagnosis of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy means instead instead of growing stronger, Hunter could need a wheelchair by the age of 12.[subscribe] The r Read More...
Heatwave brings health warnings as extremes grip globe
Date of Posting: 19-07-2023
Temperatures are expected to reach record highs in Italy and the World Meteorological Organization has warned of an increased risk of deaths as heatwaves and extreme weather grip parts of Europe, Asia and the United States. The Mediterranean islan Read More...
Free flu jabs as premier tells anyone sick to stay home
Last Updated: 18-07-2023
Queensland is calling for the rest of Australia to follow its move to make flu vaccines free for all as the state battles the highest infection rate in the country. Health experts around the nation are pleading with people to get vaccinated as rat Read More...
Global temperatures near record highs
Date of Posting: 18-07-2023
Global temperatures were soaring to historic highs as the world's two biggest carbon emitters - the United States and China - seek to reignite talks on climate change. With scientists saying the target of keeping global warming within 1.5 Cels Read More...
Critical care nurses urged to prioritise personal health and wellbeing
Last Updated: 18-07-2023
Critical care nurses are being urged to prioritise their mental and physical health and wellbeing, for the benefit of both themselves and their patients. Critical care nurses face uniquely challenging circumstances, working in an environment that Read More...
One foot wrong - theatre nurses putting feet at risk
Date of Posting: 18-07-2023
Theatre nurses are at risk of tendinopathies and stress fractures if they don’t take proper care of their feet, warns physiotherapist Trisha Partabrai. More serous conditions including plantar fasciitis, Morton’s Neuroma and complex re Read More...
Truckies to open up on struggles while on the open road
Date of Posting: 17-07-2023
As a young boy, like many others, Rod Hannifey was enamoured with big trucks. It fuelled a curiosity about the vehicles and those who drove them that ran deeper than most.[subscribe] "The bloke down the road actually had trucks, and I went Read More...
Birth trauma findings spark calls for better support
Date of Posting: 16-07-2023
One in three Australian mothers say giving birth is traumatic, prompting calls for a national inquiry and better education for parents and clinicians. More than one in 10 went even further and described their experience as highly traumatic.[subscr Read More...
Measles alert after case visits airport and shops
Date of Posting: 16-07-2023
A man who flew into Australia from overseas has triggered a health alert in Queensland after he visited shops, a service station and a bakery while infected with measles. The Department of Health raised the alarm about the case on Saturday, declar Read More...
Crosswords, games, computers ward off dementia risk
Date of Posting: 16-07-2023
Doing crosswords, using a computer, keeping a journal and playing games such as chess may help older people ward off dementia. A Monash University study suggested Australians over 70 who regularly did those activities were nine to eleven per cent Read More...
Vapes seized in illegal nicotine crackdown
Date of Posting: 15-07-2023
More than a thousand vapes have been seized for testing in a crackdown across Adelaide targeting illegal nicotine sales. In the first four days of the eight-week operation, 1200 vapes with an estimated value of $36,000 and suspected of containing Read More...
Party drug shows promise as cure for severe depression
Date of Posting: 15-07-2023
People living with severe depression could soon have their lives transformed thanks to a promising new treatment in the form of a party drug. A low-cost version of ketamine has been found to be effective for treatment-resistant depression, with a Read More...
WHO deems popular sweetener 'possible' carcinogen
Date of Posting: 15-07-2023
The sweetener aspartame is a "possible carcinogen" but it remains safe to consume at already agreed levels, two groups linked to the World Health Organisation (WHO) have declared. The rulings are the outcome of two separate WHO expert pa Read More...
Calls for flu jab increase after second child's death
Date of Posting: 15-07-2023
Authorities want people to roll up their sleeves for a flu jab after a second child's suspected influenza death. An 11-year-old girl died last Thursday on Queensland's Sunshine Coast after contracting the flu, which followed reports of the Read More...
Regional pacts the proper tonic for dodgy medications
Date of Posting: 15-07-2023
Australia's drug regulator will team up with governments in the Indo-Pacific under a $13.3 million boost to improve access to medicines. Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the partnership between the Therapeutic Goods Administration and reg Read More...
