Mesothelioma In South Africa

Mesothelioma in South Africa
With the highest rate of mesothelioma diagnosis on earth, South Africa has been called the "Mesothelioma Capital of the World".

In 1960, the link between mesothelioma and asbestosis was established in the Kimberley area of South Africa. The majority of reported mesothelioma cases resulted from exposure to asbestos in secondary industry (incidence of the condition among miners was also significant).

Latency period
The latency period is the period from when an individual is exposed to asbestos to when the disease manifests itself.

Mesothelioma Risks And Causes

How common mesothelioma is
Mesothelioma is quite a rare cancer, but it is becoming more common. Around 2,400 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the UK each year. There are about 5 times as many cases in men as in women. This is probably because many cases have been caused by exposure to asbestos at work. Mesothelioma in the chest (pleural mesothelioma) is much more common than mesothelioma in the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma).


Asbestos
We know what causes most cases of pleural mesothelioma. Around 1 in 10 people exposed to asbestos develop mesothelioma in the pleural membranes. Many people with peritoneal mesothelioma have also been exposed to asbestos. We have known of a link between asbestos and lung disease since the beginning of the 18th century. But the link with mesothelioma has only been known since the 1960's. Unfortunately, the number of cases of mesothelioma in the UK each year is expected to rise sharply over the next 20 years because of the heavy use of asbestos in industry from the end of the second world war up until the mid 1970s.