Hiroshima doctors provide medical consultations for 79 A-bomb survivors in South America
Nov. 11, 2014
A team of doctors held a press conference about their activities in South America at the Hiroshima Prefectural Office on November 7. Dispatched by the Hiroshima prefectural government, the doctors visited Brazil and four other countries to provide medical advice for A-bomb survivors living there. As the survivors are aging, the number who came for medical advice in the eight cities they visited was 79, the lowest number to date.
The doctors visited Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, and Bolivia between October 18 and November 1. Based on blood tests and electrocardiogram records that were prepared beforehand, the doctors interviewed 79 people between the ages of 68 and 101. “I’ve learned that diabetes and high blood pressure are common among the survivors, although it’s not clear whether there is any cause and effect relationship between the atomic bombing and these diseases,” said Shuzo Toyota, the head of the team and vice president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association.
It is estimated there are between 170 and 180 A-bomb survivors living in these five countries and that their average age is around 80. The number of people who sought advice this year fell below 80, the figure for 2008, and marked a new low. Takashi Morita, 90, chairman of the Peace Association of Brazilian A-bomb Survivors and a resident of Sao Paolo, Brazil, was also present at the press conference. The association lent its support to the doctors’ activities. Mr. Morita said, “Some survivors are suffering from dementia and others are too physically weak to go see doctors.”
(Originally published on November 7, 2014)
The doctors visited Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, and Bolivia between October 18 and November 1. Based on blood tests and electrocardiogram records that were prepared beforehand, the doctors interviewed 79 people between the ages of 68 and 101. “I’ve learned that diabetes and high blood pressure are common among the survivors, although it’s not clear whether there is any cause and effect relationship between the atomic bombing and these diseases,” said Shuzo Toyota, the head of the team and vice president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association.
It is estimated there are between 170 and 180 A-bomb survivors living in these five countries and that their average age is around 80. The number of people who sought advice this year fell below 80, the figure for 2008, and marked a new low. Takashi Morita, 90, chairman of the Peace Association of Brazilian A-bomb Survivors and a resident of Sao Paolo, Brazil, was also present at the press conference. The association lent its support to the doctors’ activities. Mr. Morita said, “Some survivors are suffering from dementia and others are too physically weak to go see doctors.”
(Originally published on November 7, 2014)
