The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is a dynamic organisation, creating news in the field of diagnostic pathology and research every day. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), an institute of the NHLS, also alerts healthcare authorities and workers globally about infectious disease outbreaks requiring urgent and immediate attention.
Latest News
The Outbreak Response Unit of the NICD provides support to all provinces for outbreaks of epidemic infectious diseases.
For more information contact the unit on +27 (11) 386 0545.
Notification of imported cholera case in Gauteng Province
The NICD has confirmed the diagnosis of cholera in a returning traveller from Zimbabwe. The patient commenced with diarrhoea on 29th September and was admitted to a Tshwane hospital on 1 October with profuse watery [...]
Second outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of Congo
Following the announcement of the end of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 24 July 2018 (see WHO press release: http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/24-07-2018-ebola-outbreak-in-drc-ends-who-calls-for-international-efforts-to-stop-other-deadly-outbreaks-in-the-country), the Health Ministry of the DRC [...]
Cholera Preparedness
Cases of cholera have been reported from Zimbabwe (Harare). As of 14th September 2018 there are no confirmed or suspected cases of cholera in South Africa. However, there is a risk that persons travelling from [...]