Assoc Prof Dr Dang Xuan Hung of the Ear Nose Throat Association of HCM City and Southern Provinces said at a conference in HCM City (Photo VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam has
an increasing incidence of , with the World Health
Organisation (WHO) repeatedly issuing that it is among the most
air-polluted countries in the , according to health experts.
Dr Nguyen Thanh Vu, a lecturer at the
School of Medicine at the Vietnam National University-HCM City, said children
were at high risk from air pollution, which has a long-term effect on their
health, causing pneumonia, diseases relating to their ears, nose and throat,
and asthma.
He was speaking at a conference titled New
Warning About Respiratory Safety held last week by the Ear Nose Throat
Association of HCM City and Southern Provinces.
Vu cited a WHO report saying that two
million children die globally due to acute respiratory infections, 60 percent
of them caused by polluted air.
Some 3-5 percent of children’s congenital
defects are caused by environmental pollution, the report added.
Vu said Vietnam had the highest prevalence
of asthma among children aged 12-13 in Asia, and warned this would continue to
increase.
HCM City’s paediatrics hospitals get many
patients with respiratory diseases.
The best way to prevent the diseases is to
reduce exposure to polluted air, he said.
People should keep the air and environment
in their home clean, and everyone should wear masks when going out, he
said.
Assoc Prof Dr Dang Xuan Hung of the Ear
Nose Throat Association of HCM City and Southern Provinces said people should
proactively adopt preventive methods against diseases.
Proper nutrition, physical activity and
adequate consumption of water helps improve resistance, but when resistance is
low, bacteria and viruses which are always present in body easily cause
diseases, he added.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
