Wail Qassim (middle), Managing Director of MSD in Saudi Arabia, with Dr. Mohamed Al Gobain, Consultant Pulmonologist for the Department of Medicine at King Abdulaziz Medical City in the National Guard Health Affairs; and Dr. Milad Elias El-Bittar, Consultant at the Consulting Clinics in Kingdom Hospital in Riyadh, at the launch of health campaign in Riyadh recently.
RIYADH – As part of its ongoing commitment to raising awareness of key health problems that affect the local communities in which they work, MSD launched an awareness campaign to educate Saudi citizens on the serious dangers sandstorms pose and provide information on the best ways to manage respiratory problems resulting from these storms. Hosted at Marriot Hotel Riyadh, the event brought together several medical experts who discussed the causes and dangers of sandstorms, as well as the best ways for Saudi citizens to protect themselves during sandstorms. Talking about their decision to launch the campaign, Wail Qassim, Managing Director of MSD in Saudi Arabia, said “in Riyadh, there are at least five bad sandstorms a year. In other areas of the Kingdom, the incidence is even higher. In many cases these sandstorms can last for several hours or sometimes even the whole day, bring traffic to a standstill, forcing places of work and school to close and significantly increasing the number of hospitalizations. The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia already estimates that up to 25% of population could be suffering from asthma, with one of the major triggers of asthmatic attacks being allergies.” Sandstorms carry numerous allergens through the air with them and with 70% of Saudi Arabian asthmatics already suffering from allergies, the risk of respiratory complications due to sandstorms is extremely high. “In one single sandstorm last year alone, over 400 Saudi Arabia's were hospitalized due to respiratory problems resulting from the storm. What is even more worrying is that almost a quarter of these admissions were pediatric. At MSD we are committed to addressing the issues and health problems that affect the local community most, and in Saudi Arabia, sandstorms are a serious and growing problem.” In addition to being a major safety issue, with increased car accidents as sandstorms can reduce visibility to almost zero, these storms are a major cause of allergic rhinitis. Sandstorms carry large amounts of allergens including bacteria, fungi, viruses and pollens and because sandstorms have the ability to carry these allergens over large distances, the risk of bacterial and viral infections greatly increases during the sandstorm season. Sand or dust storms are a weather phenomenon that is represented by a confluence of dust particles carried by turbulent and strong wind to higher altitude; which severely deteriorates the horizontal visibility in terms of meteorology. There are a number of different causes that play a role in dust eruption, dust transportation and dusts rising locally; most of these causes are directly related to the effecting pressure systems. There are different sources of dust and aerosols; however, the most dominant source is dust traveling from neighboring region of Iraq. The wind moves the dust south towards Saudi Arabia causing sandstorms. Went on to add “It is difficult to control sand or dust storms, due to the spread of deserts and sand dunes in the country and the surrounding regions; in fact this is one of the major reasons for the increase in sandstorms over the last few years Talking about the health risk of sandstorms, Dr. Milad Elias El-Bittar, consultant at the Consulting clinics in Kingdom Hospital in Riyadh, said “sandstorms are a major cause of bacterial and viral infection particular amongst those with weaker immune systems such as the elderly and pediatrics, in addition to those with compromised immune systems. Additionally, because of the large amount of pollen these storms carry, allergies commonly known as allergic rhinitis, are also a problem. In severe cases and when left untreated, allergic rhinitis can lead to asthma, even in patients with no previous history of this illness. Dr. Mohamed Al Gobain, consultant pulmonologist at the Department of Medicine at King Abdulaziz Medical City in the National Guard Health Affairs division, said “asthma is one of the most chronic illnesses in the Kingdom and places a severe financial burden on both the state and the individual. It is already estimated that as much as 64% of all asthmatics in Saudi Arabia are uncontrolled putting them at severe risk of respiratory complications particularly due to sandstorms. Uncontrolled asthma can severely affect the quality of lives of patients, causing them to constantly feel fatigued and face a mounting financial burden due to the direct costs of medical treatment as well as the indirect costs, such as days off work or school. In severe cases untreated asthma can in fact lead to pneumonia or respiratory failure, which left can result in death. “Understanding the need for greater awareness to help asthmatics in better managing their disease is crucial.” The awareness campaign which is supposed to run over the next few months, in-line with Saudi Arabia's sandstorm season; will focus on providing patients and medical professionals with important information on how to manage allergies and respiratory problems such as asthma during these sandy months. Globally it is estimated that over 400 million people suffer from allergies, and over 25% of Saudi Arabian school children suffer from allergic rhinitis. Additionally, it is estimated that globally, over 250,000 people die prematurely each year as a result of poorly managed asthma. Almost all these deaths are preventable. Research has shown that by simply raising awareness of key disease areas the health and well being of citizens is significantly improved. – SG
