Killer TB red-alert on mines

2006-09-19 23:53

Johannesburg - Two of South Africa's biggest gold mines have been roped in to try and contain the killer TB strain that has killed at least 60 people so far.

The health department said on Tuesday that six miners had been diagnosed with XDR-TB (extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis).

The miners worked at operations of Harmony and Gold Fields in the Free State, and had been placed in isolation units at hospitals, said provincial health spokesperson Gela Naude.

She said: "The department of health is in the process of engaging the mines to trace all people who were in close contact with these patients for testing as well."

The mining industry is a major employer, with about 450 000 workers.

Gold Fields and Harmony are the world's fourth and fifth biggest gold producers, respectively.

Virtually untreatable disease

Doctors have voiced fears that a major outbreak of the deadly TB strain could sharply hike the country's already considerable Aids death toll.

TB is the leading killer of those infected with HIV as it thrives in weakened immune systems.

There is concern the virtually untreatable disease could move quickly through South Africa, where an estimated one in nine people are infected with HIV/Aids.

The health department said: "There is no need for the public to panic at this stage as the situation regarding XDR-TB is contained."

Earlier this month, a Johannesburg hospital detected the first case of disease outside KwaZulu-Natal, where 60 people have died and doctors report two to three new cases a month.

The KwaZulu-Natal health department was expanding treatment for extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) to all districts, it said on Tuesday.

It also had started active surveillance for the disease in the Msinga area, said department spokesperson Leon Mbangwa.

Of the province's 522 clinics, 490 now had TB crisis plans. Sputum was being collected three times a week at 448 of these clinics.

TB kills 1.7m worldwide annually

A survey of the 10 hospitals in which XDR patients were identified was expected to be completed before the end of December.

TB, an airborne illness spread through coughing and sneezing, kills an estimated 1.7 million people annually worldwide. - Sapa/Reuters

- News24