An Asthma Outburst in Dubai

Here is the link to listen to my radio story about the widespread of bronchial asthma in Dubai. Hope you all enjoy it!
http://youtu.be/cRj0QNKDfHs

An Outbreak in the Number of Asthmatic Patients in Dubai

Between the 17^th and the 26^th of February, a massive sandstorm rushed to Dubai directly from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait causing an enormous outbreak in the cases of bronchial asthma.

Strong winds picked up dust and covered Dubai with heaps of sand everywhere. This reduced the visibility in the city to less than 500 meters and caused major accidents on Sheikh Zayed road, Al Ettihad, and many others. Since about 25 percent of children across the UAE suffer from bronchial asthma. Thus, doctors at Al Rashidiya Medical Centre advised asthmatic children to stay indoors as the raging dust could trigger wheezing- a continuous whistling sound produced in the airways- while breathing.

Not only do children undergo asthmatic attacks, many adults do too. The recent raging sandstorm was many citizens’ subject of complaint. It reduced the level of visibility everywhere in Dubai and caused the quick spread of viruses and illnesses.

Doctor Sami Abu Naib, General Practitioner in Primary Health Care at Al Rashidiya Health Centre, emphasized, "In the past few months, the number of asthmatic patients increased. That is due to the crowded places, the cars, the streets, the pollution, the dust, and the industries. Especially, the industries! During the end of February while the wind was blowing everywhere in Dubai, we noticed more patients in the emergency section complaining from bronchial asthma." He added, "Strangely so many people do not complain from bronchial asthma in their home countries. But as soon as they come here, they start suffering from bronchial asthma. Even though they have no family history or any genetic factors, I consider the climate a major factor."

In general, an asthmatic patient suffers when he or she walks or runs a lot, and feels exhausted after carrying anything heavy, then starts requiring more oxygen etc. Essam Al Misri, a civil engineer working at Saleh Bin Lahej Constructions in Dubai, only experiences these symptoms when the weather changes. While sipping a cup of coffee early morning, he explained, "In the past few months and even these days, there is less rain and more dust, which brought me to the first step in the direction of suffering from bronchial asthma. First, I got an allergy and then, I began coughing every time I took a deep breath.” Being in the construction field and having to work outdoors whilst getting affected by the bad weather, he expressed his frustration when he said, "So although I don’t consider myself an asthmatic patient, I'm forced to keep an inhaler with me at home."

Samira Ahmad, a Somali housewife living in Dubai for more than ten years said, "If I smell strong perfume like Arabian Oud, or any dust at home, or sometimes even while cooking traditional food, I get the attack. But recently when there was too much dust, I was suffering a lot. Although I have a nebulizer at home that I use whenever I get this asthma attack, this time I had to visit the doctors because it was quite severe." After a few moments of deep thought, she confirmed, "I feel much better when I go back to Somalia, because even though there is humidity there and other factors., the climate is not as unstable as here."

Many of the residents of Dubai are immigrants and therefore, this was their first experience in a sandstorm. Most people in Dubai have a weak immunity system, and that is why as soon as the forceful winds struck Dubai, many were strongly affected. This was what Dr. Abu Naib concluded were the reasons behind the increase in asthma patients over the past few months.

Al Misri showed how concerned he was about the climate when he exclaimed, “I hope the weather does not continue at this rate. Otherwise, I might think of moving to any other country with a more stable weather carrying less diseases.”

Health Warnings Concerning Medwakh

This is the link to our radio piece about the various unknown health issues related to smoking medwakh. I hope you all enjoy it! Done by Marina Makary and Sylvia Sarkies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkBS5RLgVYU&feature=youtu.be

Sudden flames at AUD lead to the loss of two.

Sudden flames at AUD lead to the loss of two.
By Marina Makary
The 21^st of February 2012 began miserably at the American University in Dubai after fire broke out at the Tennis Court due to absence of security guards and late arrival of firefighters.

During a press conference held by Sabah Haider, a representative of AUD security, and Meedo Taha, Dubai Media City Police Chief Constable, Haider described the accident as a "fatal tragedy" that happened between 6 am and 6:30 am and 2 were found dead. After Constable Taha's sudden phone call and hesitation to reveal the information, he confirmed that one of the victims is a 25 year old, male smoker, and an engineering student at AUD, while the second victim remains anonymous till the DNA test results.

"No rackets or any clear indication that whoever was on the tennis court was there to play tennis, however there was a big bag of pipes under the tree of the tennis court and we have reasons to believe that the tennis court was being used as the scene of exchange of counter banned goods." Chief Taha continued, "Three students were admitted to campus prior to 6:30 and one other student was from the dorms; however they have not been spotted outside the tennis court"

Although the security guard on duty was on his cigarette break during the fire, according to Constable Taha's inspection, he did notice a smoke cloud above the tennis court around 6:15. Nevertheless, he stated that he saw no evidence of foreplay. Besides Chief Taha added, "We found evidence of 3 cigarette butts however we were not able to identify whether the cigarette butts were there prior to the fire or even from the previous night."
Chief Taha confidently expressed, "Cost is not our biggest concern right now; our biggest concern is the loss in lives."

As 21^st was a holiday, no eyewitnesses were found. But that itself is strange especially due to th  close location of the girls' dorms next to the tennis court.

Mrs. Haider ended the press conference by announcing that all flags will be up for the next two weeks as a remembrance of the AUD student who tragically died today morning.

The question remains as to where those three students went after being admitted on campus on a holiday. According to Chief Taha, "Whether or not we will qualify that as a crime scene depends on whether the incident itself is identified as a crime".

Citizens of Dubai Obligated to Marriage Tests

To know all about pre-marital consultation tests in Dubai, view this photo/audio slideshow by clicking here http://vimeo.com/37046177

Photo Journallism: Thalassaemia

Thalassaemia is a genetically-inherited disease that has been increasing rapidly in the UAE due to intra-family marriages.
Hope you all like my slideshow :)
http://www.slideshare.net/MarinaMakary

The photo that caught my attention

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/even-in-egypt-a-long-way-to-go/
This photo slideshow caught my attention as it had a variety of photos conveyeing different messages. The photo that really made me think was photo number 5. It shows a lot about the Egyptian culture, how the food is served on the dining table, but one can also see a picture of one of the family members in jail. It conveys the message that even though he's in jail, he isn't forgotten even while the family is having a simple daily meal.