11 per cent Delhiites suffering from Asthma: Govt

New Delhi, Aug 7: A survey has found that over 11 per cent people in Delhi are suffering from Asthma and Rhinits, the government today said while acknowledging that air pollution is an "aggravating" factor for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

"As per a survey conducted by Vallabbhai Patel Chest Institute Delhi in 2006, which covered 5,900 adults belonging to urban, rural and slum population in Delhi, 11.69 per cent were found to be suffering from Rhinits and 11.03 per cent from Asthma," Health Minister J P Nadda informed the Lok Sabha.

He said that air pollution was known to be one of the aggravating factors for many respiratory and cardiovascular diseases but specific information on the number of cases and deaths due to air pollution was not available.

He said that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has sponsored three epidemiological studies to assess the long term impact of air pollution on human health.

"The studies indicate several pulmonary and systematic changes, altered immunity and other health impairments associated with cumulative exposure to high level of particular pollution that increases the risk of various diseases including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases," Nadda said.

Replying to another question, Nadda said that in the government sector, research activities for early detection and treatment of cancer are mostly carried out by institutions such as the Indian Council of Medical Research, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Atomic Energy.

The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has developed 'Bhabhatron', a state-of-art nuclear medicine cancer therapy machine, and the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research has developed Linear Accelerators (LINAC), for treating deep-seated cancer tumors.

Further, as informed by the department of electronics and information technology, under a project for 6 MV Medical LINAC, a unit has been commissioned at Indian Institute of Head and Neck Oncology at Rau (Indore) in Madhya Pradesh, Nadda said.

Nadda said that "National facility on community based cancer tissue bio bank for drug target" has been sanctioned to study the genetics and genomics to understand cancer progression and pathology in Indian population.

PTI