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, A Heidari * 2, K Nadafi3 , MH Panahi4 , E Ahmadnejad5 , SH Malekafzali6 , M Najmi7 , E Idani8 , H Amiri9 , Z Khorami9 , N Rajaee Behbahani9 , F Davoodi9 , S Taravatmanesh9 , A Malekifar9 , M Nejatifar9 , M Lotfi10
2- PhD Candidate of Health Policy, Health Management and Social Development Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran ,
3- Professor, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4- PhD Candidate of Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
5- Assistant Professor, National Institute of Health Research, Tehran, Iran
6- MSc, Environmental Health Engineering, Environment and Occupational Health Center, Ministry of Health, Tehran, Iran
7- MD, Noncomunicable Diseases Center, Ministry of Health, Tehran, Iran
8- Assistant Professor, Department of Pulmonology, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
9- MSc Student, Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10- MSc, Health Services Management, Office of Knowledge Translation and Research Utilization, Deputy of Research and Technology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Background and Objectives: Ahvaz has become one of the most polluted cities in the world. Only on 11 November 2013, over one thousand residents in Khuzestan Province attended the nearest health center with severe symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and high blood pressure. During a week, more than 7 thousand patients were registered with this syndrome. This study was conducted to investigate the evidence for the confirmation of an epidemic in acute respiratory syndrome among the residents of Ahwaz in November 2013.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the data of the use of drugs related to acute respiratory attacks from November 2008 to 2013 in Ahvaz. Then, we conducted a descriptive study on the general population. The sample size was 120 and the study participants included different segments of the general population. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire and the data were analyzed using SPSS.18.
Results: The use of the respiratory drugs increased from 2008 to 2013. The drug consumption was markedly higher in November 2013. In the study of the general population, 93% of the participants declared that they had never seen a similar event, and 92.5% mentioned that they had never heard of a similar occurrence.
Conclusion: Due to the significant increase in respiratory medicine in November 2013 and the unexpected nature of the event, an epidemic seems to be obvious.
Received: 2016/06/21 | Accepted: 2016/06/21 | Published: 2016/06/21
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