Mideast lung disease up with chemical wars – ‘Pulmonary pathologies in the Middle East probably surpass all other regions of the world’
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UPI) Jul 18, 2011 – Chemical warfare in the Middle East’s recent conflicts has caused lung diseases in the regions that were exposed to the poisonous substances in the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere, a report said.
“The frequent wars in the Middle East have included chemical ammunitions that can cause immediate lung damage and have potential long-term effects, ranging from bronchiolitis to ‘desert-storm pneumonitis,'” a paper in Respirology, a journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology said. “The wealth of pulmonary pathologies encountered in the Middle East probably surpasses all other regions of the world,” lead author Dr. Atul Mehta, chief medical officer at Sheik Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, said. The journal study followed numerous research reports earlier that looked into the effects of chemicals ingested by civilians and soldiers, notably during the 1990-91 Gulf War. The ongoing conflict in Libya led to calls to investigate reports of injuries caused by toxic elements used in the ordnance used during the fighting. No details of the alleged poisoning by spent ammunition have been available. Respirology said effects of toxic residues from ammunition used on the battle field added to a number of diseases that hadn’t been stamped out despite the region’s relative prosperity. The study cited tuberculosis, bronchial and pleural diseases, respiratory tract infections and neoplasms or tumors hadn’t been eliminated in the region. […] The broad array of lung disorders could also be due to the large immigrant populations in the fast urbanizing centers and unique cultural and environmental conditions in the region, the report said. There has been frequent criticism of poor employment and housing conditions for non-Arab and non-European workers in the region, mostly those imported from South Asia. […]
