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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• International News
AIDS-Linked Death Data Stir Political Storm in South Africa
February 22, 2005 On Friday, the release of a report on morbidity in South Africa provided an implicit but devastating account on the toll of HIV/AIDS in the country. According to the government agency Statistics South Africa, annual deaths increased 57 percent from 1997 to 2003. While the increase in mortality spanned all age groups, deaths more than doubled among those ages 15-49: the group most at risk for HIV/AIDS.
Excerpted from:The average number of deaths per day in South Africa rose to 1,370 in 2002 from 870 in 1997, an increase that could not be explained by the concurrent 10 percent increase in population. The report was released more than one month after the originally scheduled date. Critics charged -- and the agency denied -- the delay was due to political pressure from President Thabo Mbeki's government, which has been accused of downplaying the extent of the country's epidemic. The report acknowledged that both the total number of deaths and their causes are inaccurate, due to the lack of consistency in death reporting and uneven medical expertise throughout the country. Determining AIDS as the cause of death requires advanced medical knowledge and equipment. Moreover, an unknown number of AIDS deaths go unreported because South African life insurance companies often do not cover AIDS-related deaths. In 2002, 499,000 South Africans died, up sharply from 318,000 in 1997. Deaths from TB, influenza and pneumonia -- all primary causes of AIDS-related deaths -- more than doubled from 1997 to 2001, while deaths from AIDS-related diseases like gastrointestinal infections increased about 25 percent. The proportion of deaths among sexually active women rose significantly from 1997 to 2003 compared with deaths among men -- a ratio that strongly indicates a country's AIDS-related mortality rates. AIDS may also be exacting a toll among the youngest South Africans. In 1999, immune system disorders emerged for the first time as one of the 10 leading causes of deaths of children under age 15. Back to other news for February 22, 2005 New York Times 02.19.05; Michael Wines This article was provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update. |
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