January 26th, 2007

Doctors in the UK have been expressing their concerns over the asbestos epidemic that seems to be affecting the UK, the US, and many other developed countries. Medics that reported in the British Medical Journal said that in Britain and other developed countries tens of thousands of people that are alive and well now could end up dying from mesothelioma, which is a type of cancer that results from exposure to asbestos fibers and dust that become airborne.

Although around 1,800 people each year die from this disease in the UK, doctors think that this country – and others – is on the verge of an epidemic that could see this figure jump dramatically. This cancer takes several decades to present itself, and could fester for as long as 50 years before symptoms begin to manifest.

According to one doctor from Guy’s Hospital in London: "The peak of the epidemic is expected in 2015 to 2020 when the death rate is likely to be 2,000 per year in the United Kingdom." He added: "Many countries are seeing the rising tide of an epidemic and all doctors need to know how to recognize and diagnose this disease and what treatments are available."

He also went on to say: "The disease is increasing in frequency. There is nothing we can do now to prevent it in workers exposed to asbestos throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. What we can do is recognise it early, treat it actively and learn about best treatment with carefully thought out studies because we will be seeing many more mesotheliomas in the next 25 years. In the developed world alone, 100,000 people alive now will die from it."