Ubiquitous burden: the contribution of migration to AIDS and Tuberculosis mortality in rural South Africa

  • Philipe Bocquier Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium University of the Witwatersrand
  • Mark A Collinson University of the Witwatersrand
  • Samuel J Clark University of the Witwatersrand
  • Annette A.M Gerritsen University of the Witwatersrand
  • Kathleen Kahn University of the Witwatersrand
  • Stephen M Tollman University of the Witwatersrand
Keywords: Migration, Mortality, AIDS, Tuberculosis, HDSS

Abstract

The paper aims to estimate the extent to which migrants are contributing to AIDS or tuberculosis (TB) mortality among rural sub-district populations. The Agincourt (South Africa) health and socio-demographic surveillance system provided comprehensive data on vital and migration events between 1994 and 2006. AIDS and TB cause-deleted life expectancy, and crude death rates by gender, migration status and period were computed. The annualised crude death rate almost tripled from 5∙39 [95% CI 5∙13–5∙65] to 15∙10 [95% CI 14∙62–15∙59] per 1000 over the years 1994-2006. The contribution of AIDS and TB in returned migrants to the increase in crude death rate was 78∙7% [95% CI 77∙4–80∙1] for males and 44∙4% [95% CI 43∙2–46∙1] for females. So, in a typical South African setting dependent on labour migration for rural livelihoods, the contribution of returned migrants, many infected with AIDS and TB, to the burden of disease is high. 

Author Biographies

Mark A Collinson, University of the Witwatersrand
MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaCentre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, SwedenINDEPTH Network, Accra, Ghana 
Samuel J Clark, University of the Witwatersrand
MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of PublicHealth, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa3 Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, SwedenINDEPTH Network, Accra, GhanaUniversity of Washington, Seattle, USAInstitute of Behavioral Science (IBS), University of Colorado at Boulder 
Annette A.M Gerritsen, University of the Witwatersrand
MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public INDEPTH Network, Accra, Ghana 
Kathleen Kahn, University of the Witwatersrand
MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaCentre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, SwedenINDEPTH Network, Accra, Ghana 
Stephen M Tollman, University of the Witwatersrand
MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of PublicHealth, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaCentre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, SwedenINDEPTH Network, Accra, Ghana 
Published
2014-06-03