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Five reported dead from respiratory effects as dust storm courses through Iraq

PM:05:16:08/04/2022

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SULAIMANI — At least five people died and nearly 600 people were hospitalized on Friday (April 8) due to the effects of the dust storm that swept across Iraq on Thursday (April 7), according to information received by NRT.

A source from medical services in Tuz Khurmatu told NRT five people died and 23 were taken to the district hospital because of health conditions brought on by the intense dust storm experienced across Iraq on Thursday.

A wave of dust swept through central and western Iraq beginning on Wednesday night, which was caused by the lack of rainfall in the region, the director of Sulaimani meteorology told NRT on Thursday.

Saman Salman, the head of Erbil Health Directorate, told NRT there were 222 cases in the city’s emergency rooms of patients with distressed breathing. Many were later sent home after receiving treatment but some remained under medical supervision and had not previously experienced issues with respiratory problems.

Saman Sheikh Latif, the head of Sulaimani Health Directorate, told NRT there were ten cases of patients with difficulty breathing recorded at Shar Hospital on Thursday. Four of the patients had asthma and four of the cases were reported at the children’s hospital.

The health directorate in Raparin administration said in a statement 125 cases of difficulty breathing were recorded at the emergency hospital in Koya. The head of Shahid Dr. Khalid Emergency Hospital in Koya, Nashaat Muhamad, told NRT more than 30 people visited the emergency center on Thursday who reported difficulty breathing due to the dust storm.

There were also at least 83 people hospitalized in Kirkuk on Thursday due to the effects of the dust storm, the head of the health directorate in the city told NRT yesterday.

(NRT Digital Media)