Indo-US workshop on Environmental risks of respiratory diseases

Chandigarh, Sep 4 (UNI) Eminent doctors from India and the United States will deliberate on environmental risks of respiratory diseases at a workshop beginning here tomorrow.

The two-day Indo-US joint workshop is being hosted by the Department of Pulmonary Medicine of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and US agencies such as US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

The WHO estimates that 24 per cent of the global disease burden and 23 per cent of all deaths can be attributed to environmental factors, Prof S K Jindal, Head of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGIMER, said at a press conference here yesterday.

The burden is more on developing countries. In developing countries, an estimated 42 per cent of acute lower respiratory infections are caused by environmental factors, he said.

UNI VKJ RSA KP0938