Case Report: Victims of the Long Term Effects of Chemical Weapons on Health in Kurdistan of Iraq.

Extensive exposure to chemical weapons such as mustard gas, nerve gas and cyanide causes high mortality, morbidity, injuries, and chronic side effects in vital organs, especially the respiratory tract. Globally, chemical weapons have been documented as having been used since 429 BC, when they were used by the Spartans in the Peloponnesian War. In the First World War (WW1) the use of chemical agents caused an estimated 1,300,000 casualties, including 90,000 deaths. Chemical weapons were heavily used by Iraq against Iranian soldiers between1984-1986, then, against the Iraqi Kurds in Sheikh Wasan and Balisan valley, during April 1987 and in Halabja on 18th March 1988. Reports suggested that as many as 2.9% of the Kurdish population have been exposed to chemical weapons at some level. This case report describes a Kurdish lady who was exposed to mustard gas during a chemical attack in Sheikh Wasan in Iraq. A forty eight years old woman wearing black clothes presented to our center at 1999 complaining from shortness of breath (SOB). Her condition started 12 years ago when the Iraqi Government attacked her village Sheikh Wasan by Chemical weapons which included Mustard gas and nerve gases such as Sarin, Tabun and VX in April 1987. She described how the gas smelled like rotten apples as it spread over the village. During the attack she suffered from sever SOB, cough, skin burn and eye irritation and lacrimation. After several days of being without medical care, she received some medical attention by local medical staff in the area because the Iraqi authorities at that time refused and prohibited them from management at the major hospitals. When she returned to her home she found that several members of her family had died during the exposure to chemical gases. Among the dead people were her parents, two brothers, husband and son, in addition to other second and third degree relatives. Since that time she has suffered from repeated attacks of cough and SOB and wheezing that were increased by exertion and cold exposure. The attacks were more severe with time and the SOB has interfered with her daily activity and eventually she was suffering from SOB at rest and during sleep that made her unable to sleep lying down. Moreover she was suffering from severe depression since that time for which she consulted several doctors but without improvement. In the end of 2001, she suffered from severe cough and Hemoptysis associated with anorexia and loss of weight. She consulted our center for this purpose and we asked for a medical care for her. Available haematological and radiological investigations were done for her showing a preliminary diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer. She was sent for further investigations and treatment, but since then she has been disappeared and no more information was recorded about her situation. This is one example of many of those who suffered from the effect of chemical weapons in Kurdistan of Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]