Abstract

No prevalence data on pneumonoconiosis among Zimbabwe's 30,000 miners have been available. Passage of a 1984 law requiring examination of all miners has provided a data base to assess this, but the records had not been previously evaluated or stored in a manner to facilitate this. In 1988 we developed a strategy to utilize the existing records to estimate cross-sectional rates rapidly. In this report, we describe the approach and demonstrate high rates of simple pneumonoconiosis among long-term workers in the coal, nickel, copper, and gold mines. These data, though limited, provide a rationale for more detailed investigations in these workforces and an impetus to establish an ongoing surveillance plan for the nation's miners.

View details for Web of Science ID A1990DE00900003

View details for PubMedID 2343873