{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:28:17Z","timestamp":1785407297972,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]],"date-time":"2025-04-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744934400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>The association of tuberculosis (TB) with the mining industry is well known in South Africa. This may well be true for gold mining and silica exposure. However, a description of the pathophysiological link between coal mining and TB is not clearly detailed in the literature with many articles citing associations rather than direct causality. A focused intervention of active case-finding and treatment in coal mines in South Africa resulted in a dramatic reduction in the incidence of TB of more than 70% compared to historical figures and substantially below the national incidence as well.\n\nContribution: We suggest that the risk of acquiring or reactivating TB is not solely attributable to coal exposure itself. Instead, socioeconomic factors, such as poor working and living conditions around mines and comorbid illnesses, likely play a more significant role, as the principal drivers of the disease and therefore, these factors, alongside active screening for TB should receive more attention.\n\nKeywords: coal mining; pneumoconiosis; tuberculosis; occupational disease; pulmonary disease.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/sajid.v40i1.708","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]],"date-time":"2025-04-18T04:13:00Z","timestamp":1744949580000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Coal mining as a risk factor for tuberculosis \u2013 Commodity or circumstance?"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"40","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-8181-7062","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nevadna","family":"Singh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05bk57929","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Stellenbosch University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2134-3251","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elvis M.","family":"Irusen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05bk57929","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Stellenbosch University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","unstructured":"Department of the Prime Minister. Occupational diseases in mines and works act, 1973 (Act No. 78 of 1973). Government Gazette No. 3970. Pretoria, SA: Government printer; 1973."},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Castranova V, Vallyathan V. Silicosis and coal workers\u2019 pneumoconiosis. Environ Health Perspect. 2000;108(suppl 4):675. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/3454404","DOI":"10.1289\/ehp.00108s4675"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ross MH, Murray J. Occupational respiratory disease in mining. Occup Med. 2004;54(5):304\u2013310. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/occmed\/kqh073","DOI":"10.1093\/occmed\/kqh073"},{"key":"ref3","unstructured":"Tuberculosis in the South African mining industry [homepage on the Internet]. Fact sheet. 2020 [cited 2024 Aug 01]. Available from: https:\/\/mineralscouncil.org.za"},{"key":"ref4","unstructured":"Naidoo R, Robins T, Seixas N. Respiratory diseases among South African coal miners [homepage on the Internet]. Safety in Mines Research Advisory Committee, Mine Health and Safety Council; 2002 [cited 2024 Jul 31]. Available from: https:\/\/mhsc.org.za\/sites\/default\/files\/public\/research_documents"},{"key":"ref5","unstructured":"Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Coal mine dust exposures and associated health outcomes: A review of information published since 1995 [homepage on the Internet]. 2011 [cited 2024 July 30]. Available from: https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/niosh\/docs\/2011-172\/pdfs\/2011\u2013172.pdf"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Petsonk EL, Rose C, Cohen R. Coal mine dust lung disease. New lessons from old exposure. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;187(11):1178\u20131185. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1164\/rccm.201301-0042CI","DOI":"10.1164\/rccm.201301-0042CI"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chatgidakis CB. An autopsy survey of Bantu South African coal-miners. Br J Ind Med. 1963;20(3):236\u2013242. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/oem.20.3.236","DOI":"10.1136\/oem.20.3.236"},{"key":"ref8","unstructured":"Mphofu O. Tuberculosis in coal mine workers in Mpumalanga [homepage on the Internet]. Mandela School of Medicine. 2009 [cited 2024 July 30]. Available from: https:\/\/researchspace.ukzn.ac.za\/items\/d5636777-5c01-4340-b12f-c8c0a944f90b"},{"key":"ref9","unstructured":"Tremblay GA. Historical statistics support a hypothesis linking tuberculosis and air pollution caused by coal. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis [serial online]. 2007 [cited 2024 Jul 30];11(7):722\u2013732. Available from: https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/17609046\/"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mosquera J, Rodrigo L, Gonz\u00e1lvez F. The evolution of pulmonary tuberculosis in coal miners in Asturias, Northern Spain. Eur J Epidemiol. 1994;10:291\u2013297. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/BF01719352","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01719352"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brouwer DH, Rees D. Can the South African milestones for reducing exposure to respirable crystalline silica and silicosis be achieved and reliably monitored?. Front Public Health. 2020;8:107. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2020.00107","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2020.00107"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Naidoo RN, Robins TG, Murray J. Respiratory outcomes among South African coal miners at autopsy. Am J Ind Med. 2005;48(3):217\u2013224. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ajim.20207","DOI":"10.1002\/ajim.20207"},{"key":"ref13","unstructured":"Rambiki E, Dimba A, Banda P, et al. The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among miners from the Karonga, Rumphi, Kasungu and Lilongwe Districts of Malawi in 2019. Malawi Med J. 2020;32(4):184\u2013191. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4314\/mmj.v32i4.2"},{"key":"ref14","unstructured":"Seccombe A. South Africa\u2019s mining industry tackles TB and has sustainably beaten its 2024 milestone target [homepage on the Internet]. Media statement. 2024 [cited 2024 Aug 01]. Available from: https:\/\/mineralscouncil.org.za>jdownloads"}],"container-title":["Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/sajid.co.za\/index.php\/sajid\/article\/view\/708\/1775","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,8]],"date-time":"2025-09-08T09:31:28Z","timestamp":1757323888000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/sajid.co.za\/index.php\/sajid\/article\/view\/708"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]]},"references-count":15,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/sajid.v40i1.708","relation":{},"ISSN":["2312-0053","2313-1810"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2312-0053","type":"print"},{"value":"2313-1810","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]]},"article-number":"a708"}}