Children Hit Hard by Air Pollution

High levels of outdoor air pollution are making Maltese children among the worst sufferers of respiratory conditions, according to a medical expert.

Consultant respiratory physician Stephen Montefort said the number of asthma and allergy cases had increased dramatically in recent years.

The number of five to eight-year-olds suffering from asthma and allergies increased by 50 per cent between 1994 and 2001, while the number in this age-group suffering from wheezing trebled between 1985 and 2001.

On the other hand, respiratory problems in 13 to 15-year-olds remained at the same level.

A recent study published in the local scientific journal Xjenza has shown that fine dust emissions from soft stone quarrying amounts to around 38 times more than the highest international recommended level. At least 1,200 tonnes of fine dust particles are produced by soft stone quarries annually, according to the study by Alfred Vella and Renato Camilleri.

Asked whether this explained the level of asthma and allergies, Dr Montefort, who is a senior lecturer in medicine, said a number of confounding factors made it difficult to establish a direct association between pollution and allergic airway conditions.

However, he said, there was convincing epidemiological data showing strong relations between air pollution and an increased incidence of these conditions.

He pointed to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children, which ranks Malta third among European countries for childhood asthma and states, that the island has the third highest rate of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis among children in the world.

Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis is an inflammation of the lining of the nose and of the membrane covering the front of the eye and the eyelids. Its symptoms include sneezing, an itchy, blocked and runny nose and itchy, watery eyes.

Dr Montefort said the study shows that the highest rates of asthma in five to eight-year-old children were seen in Naxxar.

Children between the ages of 12 and 15 living in Sliema, where a lot of construction work is underway, also had high rates of asthma.

"However, in a small island like Malta, with a lot of prevailing winds, it is difficult to determine whether one place is more affected than another as particulate matter is blown all over."