Information presented by Dr. Micha Bar-Hana, the Israeli city of Nahariya has one of the largest concentrations of mesothelioma cases in the world. Nahariya was home to the only asbestos plant in the country, which was shut down in 1997. Dr. Bar-Hana is the director of Health Ministry’s cancer registry and presented the information at Petah Tikva’s Rabin Medical Center’s recent conference.
Dr. Avi Weiner, an expert in work-related diseases at Rambam Medical Center, also presented at the conference. His topic provided information on the risks of second-hand contact of asbestos. Family members in close contact with those who were directly exposed to asbestos are at risk for developing mesothelioma.
Dr. Weiner also warned that the numbers of people who develop mesothelioma will increase as they age, due to the long latency period of the disease. His example was his treatment of a 93-year-old man who had been exposed to asbestos approximately 70 years before.
Tags: asbestos, mesothelioma
