Active pulmonary tuberculosis discovered at post-mortem examination of the lungs of black miners

Abstract

The prevalence of active pulmonary tuberculosis and pneumoconiosis in black mine workers who died while working on mines and came to autopsy is reported. All black mine workers are regularly examined radiologically during life and those with pulmonary tuberculosis or pneumoconiosis are compensated and sent home (after treatment in the case of tuberculosis) and would not enter this autopsy series. Details are given of the prevalence of tuberculosis separately for gold, coal and asbestos miners. Tuberculosis was age-related in all three cases. In black gold miners the presence of a slight degree of silicosis not detected radiologically in life was associated with a significantly increased prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis compared to gold miners without silicosis. This was not found to be the case in those in whom asbestosis or coal workers' pneumoconiosis was found at autopsy.