Cape Town — South African Researchers Bring Hope for Developing New TB Vaccines
Researchers at the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) based at the University of Cape Town have broken new ground in developing for tuberculosis (TB), Times Live reports. The scientists, in collaboration with colleagues from Stanford University in the U.S., said: “Determining those parts of the M. tuberculosis bacterium which new vaccine candidates should target is a critical step in the design and development of new TB vaccine candidates.” The team will pursue further research together with researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand/SAMRC Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit and the Experimental Tuberculosis and Immunology Research Group at UCT with the hope of developing a new, highly effective vaccine against TB.
City of Cape Town Activates Disaster Operations Centre to Lessen Impact of Power Cuts
The City of Cape Town has elected to activate its disaster operations centre following the implementation of Stage 6 power cuts which power utility Eskom said will continue indefinitely, Eyewitness News reports. The City said it did this with the intention of mitigating the impact of power cuts, particularly on areas the worst affected by them. Warnings of sewer spills and overflows were also made, caused as a result of prolonged planned power cuts.
Eskom Promises to ‘Manage’ Emergency Generation Units Following Multiple Breakdowns
The breakdown of 11 generation units pushed Eskom to institute Stage 6 load shedding in the evenings, Eyewitness News reports. Eskom spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, called on South Africans to use electricity sparingly while the power utility grapples with repairs. “Due to the severe capacity constraints, Eskom will continue to manage the limited emergency generation reserves to supplement generation capacity, ” he said.