Silicose chez les mineurs souterrains congolais : à propos de 27 cas observés à Lubumbashi, République démocratique du Congo [Silicosis in underground miners in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo: 27 cases]

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_78135941DE41
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Silicose chez les mineurs souterrains congolais : à propos de 27 cas observés à Lubumbashi, République démocratique du Congo [Silicosis in underground miners in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo: 27 cases]
Journal
Médecine et santé tropicales
Author(s)
Kabamba Ngombe Léon, Ngatu Nlandu Roger, Nyembo Mukena Christophe, Kabyla Ilunga Benjamin, Wembonyama Okitotsho Stanislas, Kakoma Sakatolo Jean-Baptiste, Luboya Numbi Oscar, Danuser Brigitta
ISSN
2261-2211 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
2261-3684
Publication state
Published
Issued date
01/11/2018
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
28
Number
4
Pages
395-398
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
Silicosis is one of the most prevalent occupational lung diseases and a public health problem throughout the world. Underground miners of copper and cobalt are exposed to the dust of these minerals and thus to the risk of developing silicosis. The objective of this report was to describe a series of silicosis cases in miners exposed to mineral dusts at a mining company operating since the colonial era in Lubumbashi, Katanga province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This descriptive retrospective study reviewed records at the occupational safety and health department of the mining company mentioned above and included 2500 underground miners who worked there between 1970 and 1995; it collected and analyzed their medical records. Chest radiographs of silicosis patients were classified according to the ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconiosis. All miners were males (mean age: 48.5 ±12.5), had low literacy levels, and used no protective device (i.e., mask) against dust. Their mean number of working years in the underground mines was 25.07±7.39 years. Of the 2500 miners, 1.08 % (27/2,500) had developed silicosis. The most common clinical manifestations were dyspnea and cough, and the most prevalent radiologic features large opacities (92.59 %), small opacities (96.27 %), and pleural thickening (25.92 %). The fatality rate was 100 %. This study revealed the absence of safety measures among Congolese underground miners from Lubumbashi, which might have contributed to the development of silicosis in some of them. It is thus necessary to implement occupational safety measures to reduce their risk of silicosis.
Keywords
Silicosis, Miners, Occupational Diseases, Democratic Republic of the Congo, DR Congo, miner, silicosis
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
13/12/2018 17:22
Last modification date
20/08/2019 15:34
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