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Doctors from three countries visit Hiroshima University Hospital, learn about medical treatment for radiation victims

by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer

Four doctors from overseas visited the Advanced Emergency and Critical Care Center at Hiroshima University Hospital on November 15 and learned about treatment for victims of nuclear disaster. The doctors from the United States, South Korea, and Latvia have been invited to participate in a study program sponsored by the Hiroshima International Council for Health Care of the Radiation-exposed (HICARE), which is comprised of the Hiroshima prefectural and municipal governments and other entities.

Nobuyuki Hirohashi, an associate professor at the emergency care center, told about his experience of visiting Fukushima as a member of the Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team shortly after the nuclear accident triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Dr. Hirohashi examined patients in the city of Nihonmatsu, including those who escaped from disaster-stricken areas. He said, “The number of people who were actually contaminated by radioactive materials was small. But out of fear of radiation exposure, hospitals would not accept even patients whose conditions deteriorated due to the evacuation.” Dr. Hirohashi also explained about Hiroshima University’s program for human resources development on the theme of post-radiation disaster reconstruction.

Professor Robert Cooney, 62, from the office of public health studies at the University of Hawaii, voiced concern over the difficulty of tending to a great number of people if a nuclear weapon was used. The participants in the program, which ends on November 18, will study the effects of radiation on the human body as well as treatment for A-bomb survivors at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation and other facilities.

(Originally published on November 16, 2016)

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