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Shimane University to pursue exchange with Semey State Medical University to support radiation sufferers in Kazakhstan

by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer

Shimane University will conclude an exchange agreement with Semey State Medical University, located in Semey (formerly Semipalatinsk), Kazakhstan, next January. The two institutions will pursue such activities as dispatching doctors, conducting on-site examinations and operations, and engaging in joint research on radiation exposure to enhance the treatment provided to radiation sufferers in Kazakhstan, victims of the more than 450 nuclear tests performed by the former Soviet Union.

The agreement states that the latest medical technology and expertise will be shared between the two universities with the objective of “maintaining the health of local residents who suffer from the consequences of nuclear testing conducted by the former Soviet Union.” Shimane University will receive doctors from Kazakhstan for training, dispatch oncologists to Kazakhstan, and perform medical examinations and operations for local residents. The institutions expect to exchange about two doctors each year.

The two universities also envision conducting joint research to examine the effects of radiation through DNA analysis and other methods which will make use of cancer cell specimens from radiation sufferers collected by Semey State Medical University.

Yoshihiro Noso, 62, who specializes in surgical oncology, will head up the Shimane University side. Dr. Noso has been conducting medical examinations for radiation sufferers in Kazakhstan since 2003. During a visit there this past August and September, he delivered his first intensive lectures on cancer treatment and radiation to medical students and interns with the aim of nurturing the expertise of local physicians.

According to Dr. Noso, the number of diagnoses of cancer, including breast cancer and stomach cancer, has surged in the area around the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, the largest such site in the former Soviet Union, despite the fact the site has been defunct since 1991. “We don’t exactly know if this is attributable to the nuclear tests or not,” he said. “But the reality is that the number of cancer cases has increased and the medical care is insufficient. Japanese medicine can play a significant role there.”

Nobuo Takeichi, 68, who specializes in the thyroid gland and resides in Minami Ward, Hiroshima, and Masaharu Hoshi, 64, a professor emeritus at Hiroshima University and a specialist in radiation biology and physics, will also take part as clinical professors at the Shimane University Medical School. They have been involved in providing medical support to Kazakhstan for many years.

The signing ceremony will be held on the campus of Shimane University, located in the city of Matsue, on January 28, 2013. Tolebay K. Rakhypbekov, the president of Semey State Medical University, and others will be invited to join the ceremony.

Keywords

Radiation sufferers in Kazakhstan
The Semipalatinsk nuclear test site covered an area of roughly 18,500 kilometers in size, making it the largest nuclear test site administered by the former Soviet Union. Between 1949 and 1989, over 450 nuclear tests were carried out here. Among them, more than 100 nuclear tests were conducted in the air and on the ground, spreading radioactive substances over wide areas and resulting in serious damage to the health of local residents, including a number of abnormal births. Even since its closure in 1991, many still continue to suffer from heart ailments, blood pressure-related diseases, lung cancer, and other illnesses. The Kazakh government estimates that as many as 1.5 million people have been affected by the nuclear tests.

(Originally published on November 19, 2012)

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