TB a top killer disease in SA

Tuberculosis (TB) killed more than 33 000 people in 2015, making it the leading cause of death in the past three years, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) revealed yesterday.

According to the report dubbed Mortality and Causes of Death in South Africa 2015: Findings from Death Notification, tuberculosis accounted for 7.2% of all deaths last year, and had stood at an average of 7% each year in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

StatsSA said tuberculosis had killed more men than women, while diabetes mellitus accounted for more female deaths.

Tuberculosis was followed by diabetes mellitus, which had resulted in 5.4% deaths.

StatsSA said the total number of deaths that had occurred in 2015 stood at 460 236.

The information focused on causes of death that had occurred in 2015 and were processed for the period from January 1, 2015 to August 27.

Hypertensive diseases, HIV, influenza and pneumonia, cerebrovascular diseases, and other forms of heart disease were also among the top 10 leading causes of death in 2015. – ANA

Up to 3 000 rhinoceros have been wiped off South Africa’s grasslands in the past year, thanks to poachers and drought. The latest numbers released by the department of environmental affairs (DEA) show 1 054 were killed by poachers.

Yet the DEA said the drought had also played its part on rhino numbers.

“During September 2016, a rhino survey using the block count method recorded that a total of 6 649 to 7 830 white rhino lived in Kruger National Park,” the DEA’s statement said. “This is lower than the 8 365 to 9 337 that lived in the Kruger National Park during 2015. It must be noted that the natural deaths of white rhino increased due to the unprecedented drought conditions.

“A total of 349 to 465 black rhino lived in Kruger National Park in 2016 compared to 313 to 453 in 2015.”

The DEA is also looking for public comment on “trading in, giving, donating, buying, receiving, accepting as a gift or donation, or acquiring or disposing of rhinoceros horn within the borders of South Africa, or the export of rhinoceros horn from South Africa for personal purposes”.

Thou shalt not deal in rhino horn is the prescript handed down from the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) mountain, unless you’re the DEA.

The Citizen is waiting for input from the DEA on the contradictory piece of legislation.

At the most recent Cites conference in Sandton in September last year, Swaziland’s proposal to deal in rhino horn was met with bared teeth from activists and a cheer from breeders.

The outcome was a nay vote of 100-26 with 17 abstentions. –