Impact of HIV/AIDS on deaths certified at Mosvold Hospital, Ingwavuma, Northern KwaZulu-Natal from January to August 2003
Mosvold Hospital, South Africa; Private Bag X2211, Ingwavuma 3968, South Africa
Vaughan Williams, C.H., Mosvold Hospital, South Africa, Private Bag X2211, Ingwavuma 3968, South Africa
An analysis of the causes of death certified at Mosvold Hospital, Ingwavuma demonstrates the impact of HIV/AIDS in the region. HIV/AIDS appears to be responsible for about 45% of registered deaths in both males and females after the age of nine years. There is a significant difference in the mean age at death between males and females succumbing to the disease after the age of nine years: the average age at death of females from HIV/AIDS is 35 years, and the average age for males is 40 years. The younger average age of death from HIV/AIDS in females, together with a higher expected age of death from non-HIV causes, means that females lose considerably more years of life due to HIV/AIDS than males. The figures for this part of northern KwaZulu-Natal indicate a higher impact of HIV/AIDS on deaths than in previous assessments for South Africa as a whole.