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.”