Pretoria - Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death in South Africa – yet it is treatable and survivors are urging people to get tested and treated.
According to figures released in Pretoria on Tuesday by Statistician-General Pali Lehohla, the disease is responsible for 12 percent of deaths among males, and 10 percent in women.
In Atteridgeville, the Gauteng MEC for Health, Hope Papo, was sending a strong message to the community that TB could be cured even if you were HIV positive.
Papo and two Atteridgeville survivors of the disease have urged those who suspect they might have the sickness to get themselves tested and treated.
Papo was speaking at the Saulsville arena for the commemoration ceremony for World TB Day that falls on March 24.
According to the StatsSA figures for mortality and causes of death for 2011, TB was in the forefront, with 18 percent of people 15 to 49 years old dying of TB.
According to TB survivor Paulinha Mashapu, many people in the townships died of the disease because they were afraid to get tested.
Mashapu was diagnosed with HIV in February last year and a month later TB. She said her life was an uphill battle and the biggest fear that confronted her was telling her only daughter.
“I asked a sister at the clinic to inform my daughter and it took a while for us to adapt to the new way of living we had to implement. I went on a nine-month TB treatment and now I’m cured. Already life is better at home and I don’t have to drink seven pills a day. Now it’s only my ARVs and I’m healthy and living even with HIV.”
Mashapu said more people need to realise the importance of getting tested and treated.
Another survivor who shared his story yesterday was Bethuel Rapao. For 24 months he took 17 tablets a day as part of his TB treatment.
“I went on the six-month treatment, but it didn’t work and I was getting weaker, so I started the multidrug-resistant (MDR) treatment and it worked. Now I’m cured and so grateful I took that step to get tested and treated,” the taxi driver said.
“I contracted HIV in 2009 because I was a playboy and went around a lot. A month later I had TB.
“I always had to keep the windows of the taxi open and in winter my passengers would complain, but my window was always open. I would cough into my hanky and when that was not available I would cough into my shirt so that I didn’t spread the germs,” he said.
Mashapu spent seven months in hospital and started the MDR treatment.
Two years later, he was cured.
“The best thing to do is get tested so you can be cured. Even if you have HIV you can still live,” he said.
Papo urged the crowd to have themselves tested.
“While we have not yet won the battle against TB, we are making strides in early diagnosis, early treatment and follow-up on those who are on treatment.”
He said Gauteng allocated R225 089 000 to fighting this scourge in the 2013/14 financial year. This figure excluded expenditure by hospitals in diagnosis and treatment of TB patients.
In addition, the province was faced with the challenge of internal migration and influx from neighbouring countries. - Pretoria News
People in Cape Town live longer than those in Tshwane, says StatsSA
Capetonians had a longer lifespan than Tshwane residents, Statistics SA (StatsSA) said on Tuesday.
Men in Cape Town lived on average to 54, while their Tshwane counterparts lived to 52.
Capetonian women lived up to an average age of 64, while in Tshwane the age for women was 56. The figures for the two metropolitan areas were based on StatsSA’s report for mortality and causes of death for 2011.
They were released by Statistician-General Pali Lehohla.
While it seemed that Capetonians had a longer lifespan than those on the Highveld, the report revealed that 26 466 fatalities were reported in the Western Cape capital city in 2011.
Gauteng’s capital showed a lower figure at 19 547.
In the leading causes of natural deaths, Tuberculosis (TB) led the statistics in both areas, with 8.2 percent in Tshwane and 6.6 percent in Cape Town.
Death caused by diseases stemming from HIV was much higher in Cape Town, at 5.7 percent. In Tshwane it was 2.6 percent.
Chronic lower respiratory tract diseases, diabetes, flu and pneumonia were also high on the list of causes of natural death.
Mortality was, however, dropping nationally, with a total of 505 803 deaths registered in the country in 2011, said Lehohla.
“The number of deaths between 2010 and 2011 decreased by 7.7 percent, while during 2009-2010 and 2008-2009, the number of deaths decreased by 5.6 percent and 2.6 percent respectively.”
Lehohla said KwaZulu-Natal accounted for most fatalities, at 21 percent, while Gauteng claimed 20 percent of the deaths, and the Eastern Cape came in third at 14 percent. A total of 45 990 of all fatalities were due to unnatural causes.
Unnatural deaths included accidents, assaults, complications in medical and surgical operations, and suicides.
The majority of all fatalities occurred outside health-care facilities.
Lehohla said TB proved to be the leading cause of death in males and females.
The disease was responsible for 12 percent of deaths among males, and 10 percent in women. Influenza and pneumonia were also high on the list of leading causes of death.
Youngsters from birth to 14 years old died mostly from intestinal infectious disease (14 percent), followed by flu and pneumonia (10 percent), and respiratory and cardiovascular disorders (9 percent).
Seven percent of 15- to 49-year-olds died because of HIV. The same percentage died of flu and pneumonia, while 18 percent died of TB.
TB also proved to be the leading cause of death among 50- to 64-year-olds. Six percent died of TB and cerebrovascular diseases.
People aged 65 years and older died mostly of cerebrovascular diseases (18 percent), while 8 percent died of other forms of heart disease and 7 percent died of diabetes.
The report also revealed that at 15 percent, the occurrence of non-natural causes of death was highest in the 15-to-49-year-old age groups.
Sixty-one percent of all non-natural deaths stemmed from accidental injuries, 11 percent from assault, 14 percent from undetermined intent, and 3 percent from medical and surgical complications, which included pregnancy and birth complications.
Eleven percent of non-natural deaths also occurred because of transport accidents, while 1 percent were because of suicide. – Sapa