For every worker who dies each year as a result of an accident on a SA mine, nine more die of tuberculosis (TB). [s]The Citizen[/s] reports that Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said during the debate on President Jacob Zuma’s [b]State-of-the-Nation[/b] address: ‘There are 41,810 cases of active TB in South African mines every year. It is eight percent of the national total, and one percent of the population, very unfortunately.’ He said in 2009, there were 167 fatalities due to mining accidents. ‘But, in the same year, there were 24,590 cases of TB, which resulted in 1,598 fatalities.’ Motsoaledi said that the government was gearing up to tackle the problem. His department had identified six districts – in [b]Gauteng, North West, Limpopo[/b] and Free State – that have ‘a very high concentration of mining activity’ and new technology had been deployed in these districts.
A broad spectrum of miners’ diseases is to be tackled, according to Motsoaledi. In a [s]Daily Maverick[/s] report he said that alongside combating TB, the government would be establishing ‘one-stop service centres’ to deal with silicosis. At these, former mineworkers would be able to receive health assessments by medics trained in occupational medicine; receive rehabilitation; and receive advice about pensions and compensation.
On multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB, Motsoaledi said this was a huge problem within [b]Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China[/b] and [b]SA[/b]) countries, reports [s]Sowetan[/s]. MDR was having a ‘huge economic impact’ in Brics due to the amount of resources needed to deal with it. He said nine MDR facilities had been established in SA, where infected people spent 18 months before they were cured.
With the [b]Medicines Control Council (MCC)[/b] ‘fast-tracking’ its authorisation processes, patients with MDR TB could soon have access to a promising new drug – Bedaquiline. According to an [s]IoL[/s] report, if approved, it will be the first time the drug is widely distributed in this country. The drug, already been approved by the [b]US Food and Drug Administration[/b], has been undergoing trials in [b]SA[/b], via a clinical access programme driven by the national [b]Department of Health[/b]. The MCC’s Mandisa Hela said, however, that she could not give the exact timeline for the drug’s approval.
Also, the [b]Department of Health[/b] has announced guidelines for the management of drug-resistant (DR), multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). [s]Health-e[/s] reports that the guidelines begin by providing an overview of DR-TB in SA, including provincial data on confirmed cases MDR and XDR-TB cases between 2004 and 2010. The document also briefly describes relevant national legislation protecting TB patients’ rights before outlining the structure of DR-TB management, including suggested staffing norms.
The [b]Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu)[/b] is, meanwhile, worried about workers who have got sick and then left on their own to fight sicknesses caused by the work they were doing. It notes that many workers, in particular farm workers, mine workers and construction workers, those who work with chemicals and those working in the poultry companies are left on their own when they are sick after they are dismissed or retrenched. They have called all workers who are sick and have medical reports that confirm that their sickness is work-related, to report to Cosatu affiliates or the [b]Department of Labour[/b] as soon as possible.
About 3,000 [b]Lonmin[/b] mineworkers defaulted on their chronic treatment for diabetes, hypertension and antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs during the ongoing strike in the platinum sector, reports [s]Business Report[/s]. ‘We are doing our utmost best to take the treatment to them and we are sending messages for people to come and get their treatment,’ said Lerato Molebatsi, Lonmin’s spokesperson. But, according to Mpumi Sithole, spokesperson for [b]Anglo American Platinum (Amplats)[/b], a company initiative, including a radio campaign. to encourage workers to take their chronic treatment has lessened the number of workers defaulting. National Health spokesperson Joe Maila is quoted in the report as saying that companies had to find a way to work with the [b]Health Ministry[/b] in the [b]North West[/b] to find alternative ways to distribute the medications.
[link url=http://citizen.co.za/198181/sa-mines-tb-rate-highest-world-motsoaledi]Full report in The Citizen[/link]
[link url=http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2014-06-20-post-sona-debate-day-2-the-overalls-are-over-it/#.U6aXmZSSzE0]Full Daily Maverick report[/link]
[link url=http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2014/06/20/sa-mines-tb-highest-in-world-motsoaledi]Full Sowetan report [/link]
[link url=http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/news/new-tb-drug-gets-fast-track-status-1.1705272#.U6aZ85SSzE0]Full IoL report[/link]
[link url=http://www.health-e.org.za/2014/06/19/guidelines-management-drug-resistant-tuberculosis]Full Health-e report[/link]
[link url=http://www.health-e.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/MDR-TB-Clinical-Guidelines-Updated-Jan-2013.pdf]Guidelines[/link]
[link url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201406191142.html]Cosatu press release[/link]
[link url=http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/strike-takes-toll-on-health-of-miners-1.1706153#.U6aSqpSSzE0]Full report in Business Report[/link]