News

5th December 2025

Princess Chichibu Memorial TB Global Award at 2025 World Conference on Lung Health

Prof Keertan Dheda was awarded the Princess Chichibu Memorial TB Global Award, presented by the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (JATA), in recognition of his exceptional scientific contributions and his global leadership in the fight against tuberculosis (TB).
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11th February 2025

Tuberculosis Drug Resistance: The Alarming Surge of Bedaquiline Resistance in South Africa

Prof Keertan Dheda, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Professor of Mycobacteriology and Global Health at LSHTM, is a world leader in the field of TB diagnosis and transmission. In this interview with Dr Richard Wall, he discusses the impending threat of bedaquiline-resistant TB in South Africa and the steps required to minimise its spread.
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5th November 2024

Best Publication Clinical Sciences

Assoc Prof Ali Esmail, Head of the CLII Clinical Trials Unit, won Best Publication Clinical Sciences (Early Career) 2024. Click on the link to read all […]
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18th December 2023

A Big Misconception About the World’s Greatest Infectious Killer

Growing up in India, which for decades has clocked millions of tuberculosis cases each year, Lalita Ramakrishnan was intimately familiar with how devastating the disease can be. The world’s greatest infectious killer, rivaled only by SARS-CoV-2, Mycobacterium tuberculosis spreads through the air and infiltrates the airways, in many cases destroying the lungs.
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17th November 2023

Tuberculosis Surpasses COVID-19 as Most Deadly Infectious Disease

“Almost a third of newly ill patients with TB globally remain undetected or undiagnosed,” Dr. Keertan Dheda, professor of TB research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, wrote to The Epoch Times. This can be due to poor diagnostic techniques and difficulty accessing care.
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28th September 2023

EducAir Online Educational Series

The South African Thoracic Society in collaboration with GSK South Africa is proud to present the EducAir online educational series. This is part of SATS and GSK South Africa’s ongoing efforts to improve the management of patients living with obstructive airways disease in South Africa.
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26th July 2023

Vaping Teens

Many high school learners, and even primary school leaners, vape. The variet of flavours available make it very attractive and it's socially acceptable for teenagers as well as their parents. Is vaping dangerous? Is vaping addictive? Why do so many children vape. Listento the interview by RSG Gesondheid host Mari Hudson with Prof Richard van Zyl-Smit.
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18th March 2023

10% of undiagnosed TB cases found in Mitchells Plain and Klipfontein communities

The study by the US National Institute of Health and the South African Medical Research Council embarked on a case finding of undiagnosed TB in Mitchells Plain and Klipfontein in Cape Town. Ntsika Majiba from The Argus recently caught up with the researchers for an interview.
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11th March 2023

Progress in Diagnosing TB

The fight against TB continues. And health professionals are making strides in monitoring and identifying new cases. A study conducted in Mitchell’s Plain and Klipfontein utilises a low-cost scalable mobile mini-clinic, operated by two health care workers. The clinics portable battery-operated DNA-based diagnostics tools are used to identify or track active. This replaces the older smear-microscopy diagnostic methodology. Professor Keertan Dheda from the University of Cape Town and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine joins me now live to tell us more about this.
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9th March 2023

A comparative study between two diagnostic interventions uncovers an improved active case finding strategy for TB

“Rapid treatment initiation remains the most effective way of rendering patients non-infectious. Thus, the XACT case finding strategy could be linked to new advances in TB treatment characterised by shortening of treatment regimens for both drug-sensitive and resistant TB”, said Dheda, PI.
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27th January 2023

As with Covid-19, the effects of TB can linger after it is cured.

According to the World Health Organization, of the roughly 10 million people who fall ill with TB annually, over 80% survive. Unfortunately, as with long Covid, being cured of TB is not always the last hurdle and many people go on to struggle with post-TB lung disease. Tiyese Jeranji asked local experts about this sometimes-neglected area of TB care.
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24th January 2023

Interviews with Outstanding Authors (2022)

In 2022, many authors bring new findings, practical information on the diagnosis and treatment of conditions related to thoracic disease to our journal. Their articles published with us have received very well feedback in the field and stimulate a lot of discussions and new insights among the peers. Hereby, we would like to highlight some of our outstanding authors who have been making immense efforts in their research fields, with a brief interview of their unique perspectives and insightful views as authors.
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19th June 2020

WHO welcomes preliminary results about dexamethasone use in treating critically ill COVID-19 patients

The John Maytham Show – Published June 19, 2020 Guest: Keertan Dheda | Researcher at UCT Lung Institute https://www.capetalk.co.za/podcasts/144/the-john-maytham-show/330116/who-welcomes-preliminary-results-about-dexamethasone-use-in-treating-critically-ill-covid-19-patients
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20th September 2018

Health Feature: hay fever and seasonal allergies

15 September 2018 7:12 AM Africa Melane talks to Prof Jonny Peter Head of the Allergy and Immunology unit at UCT’s Lung Institute. http://www.capetalk.co.za/podcasts/121/weekend-breakfast-with-africa-melane/109490/health-feature-hay-fever-and-seasonal-allergies     […]
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30th January 2018

Would you like to participate in Clinical trials?

By AFSA| January 9th, 2018|Research http://www.allergyfoundation.co.za/would-you-like-to-participate-in-clinical-trials/ By participating in clinical trials, you will have access to Doctors, Nurses, Dieticians resulting in additional medical check-ups, laboratory tests […]
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17th January 2014

TB patient treatment

Patients with incurable and highly infectious tuberculosis (TB) were being routinely discharged from hospital to die at home, putting friends, family and people in tehir community […]
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12th June 2013

Mandela’s condition ‘very serious’

Nelson Mandela remained another day in hospital with no reports of any improvement in his condition which South African President Jacob Zuma described as “very serious” […]
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26th April 2013

New asthma treatment

The new technology, which was unveiled at Groote Schuur Hospital for teh first time in Africa yesterday, is a minimal brochoscopic procedure that heats the wall […]
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23rd January 2013

New divisional heads appointed

Three new top appointments at UCT’s Department of Medicine – all black staff – are proof that the university is well on its way to becoming […]
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9th October 2011

The 2011 Sixth EDCTP Forum

The 2011 Sixth EDCTP Forum was held in Addis Ababa and was attended by Professor Keertan Dheda and Dr. Grant Theron from the Unit. Several important […]
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1st September 2011

Leading from the front

UCT won no less than three nominations – more than any other institution – when the African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI) recently recognised […]
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13th November 2010

Global TB research body honours UCT professor

Dr Keertan Dheda, Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Cape Town, is the recipient of the 2010 Union Scientific Award, bestowed by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD). The annual global award honours a researcher under the age of 45 who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of tuberculosis and/or lung disease.
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21st September 2010

SA Health Workers Getting Deadly TB

UCT researchers have shown that health workers in South Africa are contracting extensively drug-resistent tuberculosis (XDR-TB), the most serious form of the disease that is extremely […]
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13th September 2010

TB workshop commentary

The controversial question of whether or not to incarcerate patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis came under the spotlight at a workshop held at the Faculty of Health […]
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25th June 2010

Kiss of Life for lung-infection research

Thanks to their new Discovery Foundation Academic Fellowships, Dr Hoosain Khalfey and Dr Greg Symons have the funding to continue their potentially ground-breaking studies of lung […]
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1st March 2010

World TB Day 2010

The Lung Infection and Immunity Unit of the University of Cape Town would like to join with the rest of the world in commemorating World TB […]
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26th October 2009

Researcher puts TB screening to the test

New findings by UCT’s Dr Richard van Zyl-Smit could up-end some widely-held tenets of tuberculosis testing. Based at the Lung Infection and Immunity Unit, Van Zyl-Smit, […]
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26th October 2009

Success in triplicate for TB researchers

Three specialists at UCT’s Lung Infection and Immunity Unit have won substantial US fellowships for their doctoral studies on tuberculosis. Download article Monday Paper, 26 October […]
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