Taphophilia.(dot) Com - Undertakers Warn of Fluid Seepage

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Undertakers Warn of Fluid Seepage

Written by DeadGirl
Thursday, 03 November 2005
Cape Town, South Africa The undertaking business will controversially call for the HIV status of the dead to be recorded on death certificates, the United Funeral Association of SA (Ufasa) said on Monday. "The government must recognise what the health threat is to the industry," Ufasa's founder member Johan Rousseau said. A conference to discuss this issue and alleged corruption in the R40-billion industry will be held in Johannesburg early next month. Rousseau argued that not only were the 30 000 industry worker placed at risk when they handled bodies infected with HIV, but workers in related industries were also at risk. "Every dead person is touched by at least two mortuary workers, two family members, policemen and hospital workers," he said explaining that these people were exposed to fluid seepage from the bodies. Rousseau said the industry needed a big shake-up and desperately required closer regulation. He said there was large scale corruption in the highly lucrative industry, with police officers, ambulance staff and even ministers of religion forming financial partnerships with funeral parlours. A recent survey conducted on behalf of the Financial Services Board (FSB) reported to Parliament's finance committee that the industry was currently "inefficient and burdensome and did not offer adequate protection to the insured". But Rousseau said it was not only the financial aspect that needed overhauling but the industry as a whole. He further believed the survey company was not told the whole truth. "For example the survey said there were between 3 000 and 5 000 funeral parlours in the country. I believe there are 15 000 -- only a fraction are registered," he said. "With 850 000 deaths a year budding businessmen see a funeral parlour as a good way to make money," he said. "The most expensive coffin on the market sells for about R60 000 but only costs R2 500 to make. This is how the public are being ripped off," he said. He said the conference in November in Johannesburg will be attended by a broad spectrum of industry players including insurance brokers and funeral parlours and would deliver heated debates. Among other topics up for discussing include the government and FSB's "inability" to regulate the industry. This he said related to control, health requirements, corruption and bribery of government officials. - Sapa SOURCE: Mail & Guardian Online

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Taphophilia?

taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)

ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"

DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries