Italian Report Details “Global Mesothelioma Epidemic”
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Italian Report Details “Global Mesothelioma Epidemic”

ByAlex Strauss

Two Italian researchers say mesothelioma has reached epidemic proportions in some parts of the world and does not appear to be slowing down any time soon. In a new report in the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Claudio and Tommaso Bianchi of the Center for the Study of Environmental Cancer in Monfalcone, Italy analyzed data from cancer registries around the world. They supplemented their raw data with information they got from mesothelioma researchers in other countries. What they found was a disturbing upward trend in mesothelioma incidence in several European countries, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. According to the Bianchis, the UK, The Netherlands, Malta and Belgium reported the highest number of mesothelioma cases in…

Experts Predict Mesothelioma Epidemic in India

Experts Predict Mesothelioma Epidemic in India

ByAlex Strauss

Once prized as an insulator and building material, the mineral asbestos is now recognized by health experts around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), as a potent carcinogen that can cause mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases.  While many industrialized nations now ban or seriously restrict its use, India continues to import and use asbestos at a rate that is alarming the world medical community. A recent article published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, predicts that with “India’s surging consumption of asbestos, the industry’s hefty political and economic clout, and the country’s poor record of worker protection….a sizeable burden of asbestos-related disease is inevitable” leading to health consequences that “will be felt into the next century.”  These health…