COVID-19: The role of artificial intelligence in empowering the healthcare sector and enhancing social distancing measures during a pandemic

Indiscriminatory in its spread, COVID-19 has engulfed communities from all social backgrounds throughout the world. While healthcare professionals work tirelessly testing for the virus and caring for patients, they too have become casualties of the pandemic. Currently the best way to attempt to curb the spread of the virus, echoed by almost all nation leaders, is to distance ourselves from one another socially or physically. However ideal this may seem, social distancing is not always practical in densely populated lower-income countries with many citizens below the breadline. With the majority of South Africans living in poverty, communities in overcrowded households are unable to distance themselves from one another appropriately. In addition, as a nation we struggle with high HIV and tuberculosis rates, malnutrition and an already overburdened healthcare system, emphasising the extreme vulnerability of our people. These factors, coupled with the fact that many of our healthcare professionals lack the necessary personal protective equipment to prevent them from contracting the virus themselves, highlight the gravity of the damaging repercussions that we may face in the coming months, after the complete national lockdown in force at the time of writing is lifted and we move towards a partial lockdown state. Nationally, there needs to be a shift in mindset towards exploring alternative technology-based preventive measures that may empower the healthcare sector in the long term and enhance social distancing

Regulatory challenges relating to tissue banks in South Africa: Impediments to accessing healthcare

The demand for human tissue in the medical context has increased rapidly since the early 1980s, when the use of human bone in allografts in orthopaedic surgery became the norm. During the 1990s, the demand for human tissue turned towards tissue-engineered products in the field of regenerative medicine. Tissue engineering, as an established and growing interdisciplinary field comprising different specialties, such as medicine, materials science, cell biology, genomics and chemical engineering, aims to develop biological substitutes to restore, maintain or improve tissue function, thus offering patients the chance to regain normal functionality in their bodies. The purpose of this article is to explore some of the gaps that exist in the current regulatory framework that governs tissue banks in South Africa (SA), and to make certain recommendations aimed at closing these gaps. The discrepancies and gaps cause confusion and may lead to undesired and unforeseen consequences regarding the use of human tissue, as well as prejudice the welfare of patients in SA

Healthcare, artificial intelligence and the fourth industrial revolution: ethical, social and legal considerations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is usually associated with high-tech robotics, automation and science fiction, and can seem daunting to some.However, AI in general has grown considerably over the past 50 years, and is the current driving force behind the Fourth Industrial Revolution.While it proposes improvements to almost every field that it touches, including the medical sciences, ethical, social and legal challenges associated with its implementation arise. One may question whether AI, which can replace the human element by nature of its operation,has a place in South African and African communities, in certain instances. AI systems can potentially become discriminatory and lead to stigmatisation, if the systems are not properly tailored to reflect the specific characteristics of a population group. Over-reliance on the use of technology, without fully understanding the effects and consequences of the systems, could also prove to be problematic

Tuberculosis among Public Sector Healthcare Workers in eThekwini District; KwaZulu-Natal

Background: South Africa has one of the highest burdens of tuberculosis globally. Transmission of tuberculosis in health-care settings is common and healthcare workers face an increasing threat of becoming infected. Objective: The aim of this study was to calculate the incidence of tuberculosis reported among healthcare workers in public sector hospitals and clinics within eThekwini Health District in KwaZulu-Natal; South Africa; from 2006 to 2010. Methods: A retrospective review of tuberculosis registers at occupational health clinics was conducted in 11 hospitals andfour community health centres in the District. All healthcare workers who were diagnosed and treated for tuberculosis at these facilities were included in the study.Results: Six hundred and eighteen healthcare workers were diagnosed with tuberculosis during the study period; a total of 67 562 healthcare workers were employed. The mean incidence of tuberculosis over the study period was 908 cases per 100 000 (95% CI 771 - 1 046). The incidence of tuberculosis in healthcare workers was higher than that in the general population but lower than in the provincial and district populations. Conclusion: Tuberculosis among healthcare workers remains an important occupational health issue. The high burden of tuberculosis in KwaZulu-Natal; and under-reporting of tuberculosis among healthcare workers are likely to have masked the high incidence among healthcare workers