Over 44,000 chest allergy cases have been registered in the Eastern Province, according to the latest statistics compiled in the region. Dr. Tariq Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Salim, Director General of the Directorate of Health Affairs in the Eastern Province, said this problem has become commonplace in the province, affecting both children and adults. Addressing a scientific conference on the subject in Dammam on Wednesday, he said statistics and studies released by the Primary Health Care Administration in the province show that there were 44,781 cases registered in the province. Khobar topped the list with 13.4 percent followed by Mlaijah with 8.2 percent, Orairah with 5.7 percent and Al-Olayya village with 4.5 percent. He said Dammam and Ras Tannourah have registered 1.2 percent in total and Abqaiq three percent of the cases. Al-Salim said King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) in Jeddah and King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh have conducted studies on chest allergies and found that 10 to 17 percent of residents in Jeddah suffer from some form of this ailment. He said the spread of respiratory tract diseases among children could be attributed to weather changes. At least one in every 10 to 15 families suffers from chest allergies. KSU reported that 10 percent of schoolchildren in Riyadh suffer from this problem. Al-Salim said that according to statistics, the rate of the spread of chest diseases in Al-Qassim is 16 percent, Dammam four percent and Hofouf 14 percent. He said studies show that more than one million people in the Kingdom suffer from the disease, representing 13 percent of the total population. He said hereditary factors, sensitivity to weather conditions and stimulants are considered some of the major causes of allergies.
