How the Grim Reaper cuts down SA victims

Now ‘beautiful data’ goes to war on early deaths Traffic takes toll on kids

TRAFFIC accidents are the second-biggest cause of death among children aged five to 14, a study by the Medical Research Council has found.

Of the deaths recorded in this age group over a period of 15 years, 50% were from HIV/Aids. Then come traffic injuries, responsible for 10.5% of deaths;

Pneumonia and other respiratory infections account for just over 4% of all deaths in this age group;

The fourth-biggest killer is diarrhoea, followed closely by meningitis/encephalitis;

Drowning accounted for just over 3% of deaths, and epilepsy for 2%;

Almost 2% of deaths are due to interpersonal violence; and

The ninth and 10th biggest killers of children are TB and asthma. state of roads, “especially to Hammanskraal, where the Easter weekend sees a massive influx of travellers for the Church of Zion events”.

As for Limpopo, Gray asked: “Why is diarrhoea still stalking us in 2017?” There and in Mpumalanga it is the thirdbiggest cause of premature death, yet it is easily treatable.

Across the country stroke is the biggest killer after HIV/Aids and only Limpopo doesn’t have it in the top five.

According to Professor Pamela Naidoo, head of the Stroke and Heart Foundation of South Africa, hypertension (high blood pressure) is a major culprit for strokes because “it often goes undetected”.

For Long, be it a stroke, a car crash, murder or heart attack, it is a human life.

“I have seen families from shacks coming to see what’s happened on the highway after someone’s knocked down. Then they get there and realise: it is a family member.”