Children unwilling victims of air pollution
November 23, 2001. Inquirer News Service
ROLLY D., age 5, has been in-and-out of the hospital for recurrent respiratory tract infections. Jun S., 11 years old, has the intelligence quotient (IQ) of a seven-year old. Dina G., born 11 months ago, is presently fighting for her young life in the intensive care unit of a Manila hospital, hooked to a respirator to help her breathe.
The three children have one thing in common. They all live in polluted areas in Metro Manila.
Health experts are sounding the alarm that a special population at risk with the alarming problem of air pollution are children, especially those under six years of age. Many are falling ill and dying from the effects of this worsening problem.
In Metro Manila, allergy specialists noted a significant increase in cases of asthma among children under 13 years of age.
"We have to seriously address the problem of air pollution, if only for our children's sake. It is our self-inflicted big-terrorism, posing a more real and imminent threat than anthrax or other forms of biological warfare," warns Dr. Benigno Agbayani, Sr., a professor emeritus of the UP College of Medicine.
Dr. Camilo Roa, Jr., another UP professor and a past president of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians explains that because of their physiology, children are much more likely than adults to develop' smog-related lung damage. For their body size, children inhale several times more air than adults, and they breathe faster, particularly during: strenuous physical activity. In addition, they spend more time outdoors than any other segments of the population.
An article published in the British Medical Journal quotes Dr. Miguel Celdran, a well-respected pediatrician at the Makati Medical Center, as saying: "About 90 percent of my patients have respiratory illness, and we're seeing babies as young as two months suffering from asthma. Before, this was unheard of.''
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