Asthma on rise in Asia from pollution<\/p>\n
Michael Mathes
\nAgence France-Presse
\nBangkok<\/p>\n
Asia's rapid urbanization, dangerous pollution levels and poor
\nmedical treatment have triggered an alarming increase in asthma
\nwhich affects 300 million people worldwide, experts said on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
The global prevalence of asthma, already the world's largest
\nrespiratory killer, has increased steadily over the past 20 years
\ndue mostly to urban development, particularly in the region.<\/p>\n
\"This problem is set to worsen as Asian populations become
\nmore urbanized, unless measures are taken now to improve
\ntreatment,\" the Asia Asthma Development Board (AADB) said at the
\nWorld Asthma Meeting held here this week.<\/p>\n
Experts at the conference, attended by hundreds of scientists
\nand doctors, warned that sufferers in Asia are particularly at
\nrisk because doctors are failing to address the chronic
\ncondition.<\/p>\n
\"Asthma is becoming more of a concern in Asia ... and there is
\na growing problem with asthma related to people living in
\ncities,\" said Richard Beasley of the Wellington School of
\nMedicine, who co-authored a global strategy for asthma management
\nand prevention.<\/p>\n
Urgent and immediate attention is needed in the region to
\nclose the widening treatment gap for the growing number of Asian
\nasthmatics, he said.<\/p>\n
While several theories about the cause of asthma are in
\ncirculation, \"undoubtedly one of the factors could be the use of
\nmotor vehicles and their emissions,\" said Eric Bateman, a
\nprofessor at the University of Cape Town's Lung Institute.<\/p>\n
Control of the condition hinges on preventative treatment
\nregimes such as inhaled cortico-steroids, but Asian doctors are
\noften unaware of new medical treatments and control procedures or
\nare reluctant to use them.<\/p>\n
The AADB said that poor treatment standards in the region \"are
\nleading to some of the highest mortality rates in the world;
\nfigures from China suggest that 36.7 of every 100,000 asthma
\npatients will die.\"<\/p>\n
By comparison, in the United States' the death rate is 5.2 per
\n100,000 and in Canada 1.6.<\/p>\n
Singapore, with 16.1 deaths per 100,000, is also an area of
\nconcern in Asia and highlights the belief that urban areas are
\nhome to abnormally high numbers of asthma sufferers.<\/p>\n
Medical professor Nan-Shan Zhong, who heads the China Asthma
\nSociety, cast doubt on the AADB figure for China, but conceded
\nasthma had reached alarming levels in the world's largest nation.<\/p>\n
In the southern city of Guangzhou, asthma prevalence in 13-14
\nyear-olds jumped from 2.7 percent in 1994 to 3.8 percent in 2002,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"In towns and rural areas, very few doctors know how to treat
\nasthma patients,\" he added.<\/p>\n
AADB chairman Christopher Lai from Hong Kong said the
\ncondition can be brought to heel.<\/p>\n
\"It can be completely controlled ... but patients and doctors
\nhave a low expectation of asthma control and many of them do not
\nrealize asthma can be treated to such an extent,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
The recent emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
\n(SARS), which killed nearly 800 people and infected 8,000 last
\nyear, and the ongoing bird flu epidemic has dominated health
\nexperts' attention, he said.<\/p>\n
Asthma, a chronic condition of the lungs in which airways
\nbecome inflamed and swollen, is second to cancer as the major
\ncause of adult death and disability worldwide, with 180,000
\npreventable deaths per year, according to the AADB.<\/p>",
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