News Articles
4 things you should look for when picking a surgeon for your rhinoplasty
Last Updated: 19-12-2021
Rhinoplasties are very serious procedures and mistakes there could be disastrous. You could end up with severe complications or with bad results.[subscribe] You might have to deal with the consequences of a bad nose job for the rest of your lif Read More...
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo declared over
Date of Posting: 18-12-2021
The second outbreak of the Ebola disease this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo has officially been declared over, according to the World Health Organisation. The eastern province of North Kivu, where the first case was reported on October Read More...
Thunderstorm asthma warning for Vic areas
Date of Posting: 18-12-2021
An epidemic thunderstorm asthma warning has been issued for large swathes of Victoria, with hot weather set to give way to wild winds. Victoria's Department of Health has forecast a "high risk" for epidemic thunderstorm asthma across Read More...
WHO approves Novavax jab for emergency use
Date of Posting: 18-12-2021
The World Health Organisation has given emergency approval to a coronavirus vaccine made by US-based Novavax and the Serum Institute of India, paving the way for its inclusion in the program to get such vaccines to poorer countries around the world. Read More...
Vaccines may be weaker against Omicron
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
Preliminary evidence indicates COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against infection and transmission linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant, which also carries a higher risk of reinfection, the World Health Organisation says. The WHO, in i Read More...
Latest on worldwide spread of coronavirus
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
EUROPE * England's chief medical officer warned people not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain recorded its most daily cases since the start of the pandemic.[subscribe] * French President Emmanuel Read More...
Aussie push to fight blindness globally
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
Millions of people suffering from blindness and eye disease around the world could benefit from a new research collaboration between Australian universities and research institutions. The new consortium BIENCO will develop bioengineered eye tissue Read More...
Delta still 99 per cent of cases
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
The Delta variant of the coronavirus is still predominant in Italy, the National Health Institute or ISS says, releasing data of a flash-survey showing it accounted for more than 99 per cent of cases on December 6. By contrast the new Omicron vari Read More...
How worried should we be about Omicron?
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
IS IT MORE CONTAGIOUS? The fast-spreading Delta variant remains dominant worldwide, and it is unclear whether Omicron is inherently more contagious than its predecessor, the World Health Organization said on Sunday.[subscribe] Early data sugges Read More...
New SA centre to advance aged care
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
A $34 million centre to help transform the way Australia supports its ageing community has been established at Adelaide's Flinders University with a key advocacy group calling it much-needed "shot in the arm". The project is being ba Read More...
NSW 'could see 25,000 cases a day by Jan'
Last Updated: 15-12-2021
NSW could see 25,000 COVID-19 cases a day by the end of next month, Health Minister Brad Hazzard has warned, after a dramatic escalation in the number of new infections. Some 1360 new cases were detected in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, an incre Read More...
Study shows Pfizer counters Omicron
Date of Posting: 15-12-2021
Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appear to have given 70 per cent protection against hospitalisation in South Africa in recent weeks, a major real-world study on the potential impact of Omicron shows. The country is battling a s Read More...
After-hours work comms causing stress
Date of Posting: 15-12-2021
Checking work emails or responding to texts or calls during holidays or after hours could lead to burnout, psychological distress and poor physical health, new research has found. The University of South Australia surveyed 2200 academics and profe Read More...
Rural and remote mental health recommendations supported by peak body
Date of Posting: 14-12-2021
COVID-19 has impacted the mental health of all Australians, but perhaps none more so that those living in remote and rural areas of Australia, where access to mental health services is limited. The House Select Committee on Mental Health and Suici Read More...
Australia mRNA vaccine capacity steps up
Date of Posting: 14-12-2021
Victorian scientists are hoping to fine-tune Australia's first mRNA vaccine by the first quarter of 2022. Researchers at Monash University developed the vaccine during a five-month period and phase one clinical trials are due to begin in Janua Read More...
Trial gives pre-term babies better start
Date of Posting: 14-12-2021
Clementine and Felix Widdup were born 13 weeks early weighing less than a kilogram, after their mother Georgia got the pregnancy complication preeclampsia. "They were in hospital for three months, the babies were pretty sick for a pretty long Read More...
Emergency department patient numbers rise
Date of Posting: 14-12-2021
Public hospitals are seeing pre-pandemic levels of emergency department presentations, but how long patients have to wait depends on where they live. A report on emergency department care found there were 8.8 million presentations to public hospit Read More...
Review into the use of 'surgeon' title
Last Updated: 13-12-2021
A review into who can call themselves a surgeon has been launched by state and federal governments. Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley on Monday announced public consultation on the use of the titles "cosmetic surgeon" and "surg Read More...
Date of Posting: 13-12-2021
Britain faces a "tidal wave" of infections from the Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says, with a huge increase in booster vaccinations needed to strengthen defences against it. In a televised statement on Sunday Read More...
Telehealth appointments made permanent
Date of Posting: 13-12-2021
Virtual medical appointments will become a permanent feature of Australia's health system as part of a $308.6 million spend. Of that, $106 million will be spent over four years to entrench what was a temporary measure brought in to deal with t Read More...
Victoria adds 1069 COVID cases, two deaths
Date of Posting: 12-12-2021
Victoria has recorded 1069 new COVID-19 infections and a further two deaths, as access to booster vaccines has been reduced by a month. It is the seventh consecutive day Victoria has recorded more than 1000 virus cases.[subscribe] The new cases Read More...
Omicron means booster shot more important
Date of Posting: 12-12-2021
Health secretary Brendan Murphy says the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus makes getting a booster vaccination more important. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has given approval to the Moderna vaccine as a Read More...
Australia leading stroke recovery research
Date of Posting: 12-12-2021
More than 445,000 Australians are currently living with the effects of a stroke while an estimated one in four people will suffer one during their lifetime. Rehabilitation has traditionally focused on physical recovery and speech therapy, not so m Read More...
Most US Omicron cases hit jabbed
Date of Posting: 11-12-2021
Most of the 43 COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant identified in the United States were in people who were fully vaccinated and a third of them had received a booster dose, a US report says. The US Centers for Disease Control and Preventi Read More...
Thyroid cancer greater risk for obese men
Date of Posting: 11-12-2021
Current obesity levels will explain 10,000 cases of thyroid cancer in the next 10 years and most of those will be men, a new Australian study shows. Being overweight is more likely to cause thyroid cancer in men, than in women, the study published Read More...
Germany mandates health care worker jabs
Date of Posting: 11-12-2021
Workers at German hospitals, doctor's offices and nursing homes must prove that they are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 by mid-March as part of new legislation passed by the parliament. Beyond compulsory vaccinations for certain pr Read More...
Smokefree New Zealand driving Ardern
Date of Posting: 10-12-2021
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says mortality rates were enough for her to push past civil liberties concerns in her government's eye-catching new Smokefree 2025 plan. The plan, which aims to get smoking rates down to five per cent Read More...
Country passes 40m COVID-19 vaccine doses
Date of Posting: 10-12-2021
More than 40 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Australia since the rollout began in February. The national vaccine tally passed the milestone on Thursday, as a new cohort was formally approved to receive the COVID jab Read More...
First cases of Omicron likely in SA
Last Updated: 10-12-2021
Two of eight new COVID-19 cases in South Australia are suspected to be the Omicron variant, health officials say. SA Health reported the eight cases on Friday with four infections in interstate travellers, three locally-acquired and one in someone Read More...
We're running on empty, says ICU nurse
Date of Posting: 10-12-2021
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses on the frontline have carried a heavy load to help keep Australia's numbers under control - but at what cost? Working in one of the country’s busiest ICUs, nurse Tom Watkins* says that the Read More...
Born too soon: Tackling the challenges and risks of preterm birth
Date of Posting: 10-12-2021
Every year, 15 million babies worldwide are born preterm – before the 37th week of gestation – and thanks to advances in healthcare, survival rates are higher than ever. Yet early birth can be damaging in many ways, disrupting th Read More...
Concerning decline in Vic cancer diagnosis
Last Updated: 10-12-2021
Cancer diagnoses in Victoria declined in the past year, but that doesn't mean the illness is on the outer. Nearly 2500 fewer diagnoses were made in 2020 to the previous year, but Cancer Council Victoria believes the decline is likely due to th Read More...
New Zealand butts out young smokers
Date of Posting: 09-12-2021
New Zealand's government will slash the number of retailers selling cigarettes and prevent Kiwis born from 2011 onward from ever buying tobacco as part of its ambitious Smokefree 2025 plan. It will be an offence to sell or supply smoked tobacc Read More...
Booster offers Omicron protection
Date of Posting: 09-12-2021
Pfizer says a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine may offer important protection against the new Omicron variant even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said that while two doses may Read More...
Mystery COVID-19 cases on NZ east coast
Date of Posting: 08-12-2021
New Zealand's COVID-19 outbreak continues to lessen, with 90 new community cases reported, although concern remains as new areas are threatened. Wednesday's daily case count is the smallest in more than six weeks, with experts attributing Read More...
Qld mulls isolation rules for vaccinated
Date of Posting: 08-12-2021
The Queensland government is considering cutting self-isolation to seven days for vaccinated close contacts of COVID-19 cases, but insists it won't rush the decision. The state will scrap quarantine for fully vaccinated domestic travellers fro Read More...
Omicron cases in Africa, Delta in Europe
Date of Posting: 08-12-2021
Omicron cases have been confirmed in at least nine African countries, with some officials reporting that initial cases appear to be mild, while infections of the Delta variant surge across Europe. Countries reporting Omicron include Botswana, Ghan Read More...
6 ways to prevent a mass exodus of health workers
Last Updated: 08-12-2021
Most Australians are counting down to a festive season with newfound freedom surrounded by family and friends. Meanwhile, front-line health workers are bracing for a potential summer surge in COVID cases and hospitalisations. Read More...
Is foam rolling effective for muscle pain and flexibility? The science isn't so sure
Last Updated: 08-12-2021
Many physically active people get muscle pain after exercise, known as “delayed onset muscle soreness” or DOMS. Foam rolling has emerged as a popular means of alleviating delayed onset muscle soreness and stiff muscles. Read More...
Online program helping people living with chronic pain regulate emotions and reduce flare ups
Date of Posting: 08-12-2021
Australian researchers have developed a novel online program to help people living with chronic pain better self-regulate and handle negative emotions as well as mitigating painful flare ups. Published today in the Journal of Pain, researchers at Read More...
