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Fin24 reports that SA’s mining industry recorded a 3% decrease in the total number of occupational diseases reported nationally for 2017 compared with the previous year.
"We are sure that one reason for the improvement is the effectiveness of the Masoyise iTB campaign, where government, organised labour and the industry are working closely to increase screening and testing for tuberculosis and HIV not only among employees but also in the communities where they live," the Minerals Council SA (MCSA) said. Mine workers are at a higher risk of contracting TB due to prolonged exposure to silica dust, poor living conditions, and high HIV prevalence in mining communities. The main goal of the Masoyise iTB campaign is to achieve a TB incidence rate in mining that is equal to or better than the country’s incidence rate. Significant progress was being made towards meeting that goal, the MCSA noted. In 2016, TB incidence in the SA mining industry was 900 cases per 100,000 of the workforce, down from 1,200 cases per 100,000 in 2013. But, that was still higher than SA’s general TB incidence rate which was 781 cases per 100,000 people in 2016. The industry has set itself the target of being at or below the South African TB incidence by 2024.
- Read the full original of the report on the above at Fin24
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