Iraq faces soaring toll of deadly disease

[DELUSIONAL]

Iraq faces soaring toll of deadly disease
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor

13 October 2004

Soaring rates of disease and a crippled health system are posing a new crisis for the people of Iraq, threatening to kill more than have died in the aftermath of the war. Deadly infections including typhoid and tuberculosis are rampaging through the country, according to the first official report into the state of health in the country.

The alarming evidence is the legacy of years of neglect, crippling sanctions and two bloody conflicts. Iraq's network of hospitals and health centres, once admired throughout the Middle East, has been severely damaged by war and looting, leaving staff struggling to cope and adding to the crisis.

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Cancer has been rising sharply for a decade, with most cases diagnosed only when advanced, fewer than a quarter of diabetics receive insulin and there is a growing problem of post- traumatic stress disorder, especially among children, the report says.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=571593