South African tenor dies of meningitis

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http://promedmail.org/pls/apex/f?p=..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1050,82978

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Archive Number 20100530.1794
Published Date 30-MAI-2010
Subject PRO / POR> Meningitis: South Africa


MENINGITIS: SOUTH AFRICA
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A message / Una mensaje / of ProMED-mail <http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of / es un program de la International Society
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Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: Sunday, May 30 / Mayo 2010
De: Promed-Port <Promed-Port@promedmail.org>
Source: Lancenet [05/26/2010]
http://www.lancenet.com.br/noticias/10-05-26/760602.stm

Tenor South Africa, the 'Pavarotti Black' dies of meningitis

Artist would participate in the show's opening World Cup

The South African tenor Siphiwe Ntshebe, known in his country as "Pavarotti
Black "which was one of the artists chosen to join the show
opening of the World Cup, has died of meningitis, said
Wednesday the local press.

- We're not quite sure of all the details, but Siphiwe was
hospitalized on May 16 and contracted bacterial meningitis - said Keith
Lister, representing the recording artist.

The "Pavarotti Negro" was 35 years old and had been personally chosen by
former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace laureate, Nelson Mandela, for
participate in the opening event of the World.

Personal friend of Mandela, with whom it appears on your site near the breeding
a letter of congratulation sent to him by former president, Ntshebe
had classical training and received a grant from the Royal College of Music
London, where he studied from 2004 to 2007.

- He was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and tragically died on
early morning of Tuesday - said Lister.

On show will be held on the eve of the opening match of the Cup, Ntshebe
present its new theme, "Hope."

Comment:
[The ProMED-PORT normally not bother with an isolated case
meningitis (meningococcal?), but this particular case, serves to
show how infectious diseases still weigh in day-to-day life of a society -
ljs]

Comment (02):
[South Africa will host the World Cup for tourists from countries
all continents, including the fans of teams from Nigeria,
Ghana, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, all "countries" of the "Belt
Meningitis from Africa.

The health authorities should be vigilant not only with meningitis,
but with measles etc ... Remember what happened in 2000 in Mecca that was the
epicenter of the spread of meningococcus W135 from pilgrims from all over
the world participating in the Hajj (the Muslim pilgrimage to the Holy Land).

In practice, the World Cup is the big "sports Hajj" - ANN]
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ProMED-Port

 

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Re: South African tenor dies of meningitis

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/26/siphiwo-ntshebe-dies

Siphiwo Ntshebe dies at just 34 (21)Tweet this (29)David Smith, Johannesburg guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 May 2010 17.40 BST Article history
Siphiwo Ntshebe Photograph: Epic Records

An opera singer chosen by Nelson Mandela to perform at the opening ceremony of the World Cup has died after a sudden illness.

Siphiwo Ntshebe, 34, a tenor dubbed the "black Pavarotti", died yesterday from meningitis. He had been admitted to hospital last week.

Ntshebe went from humble beginnings, singing in a township church as a five-year-old, to studying at London's Royal College of Music and performing throughout Europe.

As a black opera singer - with a repertoire including Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini - he was a trailblazer in South Africa, where there were few such opportunities during apartheid and millions remain in poverty today.

The World Cup organisers said Ntshebe had been picked by former president Mandela, now 91, to sing his new anthem, Hope, at the opening ceremony in Johannesburg on 11 June.

Mandela himself appears on the track, speaking the words: "The generosity of the human spirit can overcome all adversity. Through compassion and caring we can create hope. We can create hope."

Ntshebe's life seemed to embody the hopeful aspects of South Africa after the dawn of multiracial democracy. He grew up in a shack in New Brighton, an impoverished township in Port Elizabeth. At the age of five he sang in a church where his father was a preacher, and sat on his father's knee singing to guests at the family home, his official website says.

He performed in his father's operas and musicals, sang in school choirs and studied acting and drama. He got his big break at 16 and was offered a scholarship at Cape Town university, then in Australia. In 2004 he was awarded a scholarship on the postgraduate course at the Royal College of Music in London.

Ntshebe featured in concerts across Europe, singing for Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Prince Albert of Monaco. He was preparing for rehearsals for the World Cup opening ceremony when he contracted bacterial meningitis and was admitted to the Livingstone Hospital Port Elizabeth last week.

Danny Jordaan, head of the organising committee, said today: "We are saddened to hear of this young man's death. He was a prodigious talent who would have taken a message of hope from the Fifa World Cup to the whole world."

Keith Lister, chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment, which owns Ntshebe's label, said: "This is such a sad, tragic story. Within days of realising his dreams he was struck down like this. It is a great loss. For someone who has worked as hard as he has, who has trained, and then to have it taken away right at the moment of the acknowledgement of his talent and success..."

Ntshebe expressed anxiety about his health in his final post on Facebook. "Killing headache, body aches, vomiting but the doctor says it's just fever..." he wrote.