.Iraq birth defects
FALLUJAH, Iraq, March 4 (UPI) -- Doctors are investigating reports of a very high rate of birth defects in a city of Iraq that was often the scene of heavy fighting involving U.S. troops.
The BBC reported the residents of Fallujah are seeing birth defects, including heart problems, at a rate of 95 in every 1,000 births. The report said that represented 13 times the number of similar birth defects in Europe.
A doctor told the BBC she is seeing two or three cases every day of birth defects, including paralysis, brain damage and cardiac problems. Data indicate prior to 2003, doctors would have seen perhaps one such case every two months.
Local officials have advised woman in Fallujah not to have children, the BBC said.
Residents link the timing of the surge in defects with about a year after a U.S. military-led offensive in Fallujah in 2004 and suggest armaments used in the fight may be to blame for their children's problems. Military officials told the BBC they had received no official reports of an increase in birth defects in the area but that exploded ordnance is a "recognized hazard."
One researcher said she had seen "footage of babies with an eye in the middle of the forehead, the nose on the forehead."
UPI
The BBC reported the residents of Fallujah are seeing birth defects, including heart problems, at a rate of 95 in every 1,000 births. The report said that represented 13 times the number of similar birth defects in Europe.
A doctor told the BBC she is seeing two or three cases every day of birth defects, including paralysis, brain damage and cardiac problems. Data indicate prior to 2003, doctors would have seen perhaps one such case every two months.
Local officials have advised woman in Fallujah not to have children, the BBC said.
Residents link the timing of the surge in defects with about a year after a U.S. military-led offensive in Fallujah in 2004 and suggest armaments used in the fight may be to blame for their children's problems. Military officials told the BBC they had received no official reports of an increase in birth defects in the area but that exploded ordnance is a "recognized hazard."
One researcher said she had seen "footage of babies with an eye in the middle of the forehead, the nose on the forehead."
UPI
posted by madtom at 8:25 PM
3 Comments:
In 2000 there were supposedly 118 deformities per 100K in ALL of Iraq, so it sounds like things must be improving if 95 in one city is considered alarming now. And they are blaming it on unexploded ordinance? We have young men and women handling unexploded ordinance all day long for years at a time. I wonder if they are having unusual numbers of deformities in their children. Or, could it be Iraq has been a toxic waste dump for decades and they are actually responsible for at least one of their problems? Can't they be held responsible for just one? Maybe they have some enriched uranium or nerve gas canisters buried near their water source or under their farm land...
The explanation I heard was that after we blew up Fallujah they dumped all the rubble into the river, and now they drink water right out of the same river.
That and that now they no doubt have better reporting than during saddam. I mean why would saddam report the true numbers, people might lose hope in his excellent leadership, like in Cuba where they have the worlds best birth rates, according to the Cuban regime
Maybe they dumped or buried all their WMD's in the area, and with all the bombing they did, they ended up gassing themselves...
Post a Comment
<< Home