Worldwide, one case of malignant mesothelioma goes unreported for every four to five that are reported. This according to a pre-released online report in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), a publication of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Mesothelioma is always fatal, and deaths resulting from mesothelioma are often more accurately reported than cases of the disease. Accordingly, the authors of the study examined mesothelioma deaths rather than cases. To assess the number of deaths between 1994 and 2008, they looked at how much asbestos was used in 89 countries in prior decades. Mesothelioma develops 20-50 years after peak exposure.
In the 56 countries for which data was available, 174,300 deaths occurred from 1994 to 2008. By extrapolating they estimated that 38,900 cases of mesothelioma may have occurred in the countries for which data was not available.
Authors of the report, “Global Magnitude of Reported and Unreported Mesothelioma,” hope that their findings will encourage governments to ban the mining, use and export of asbestos. Moreover, they suggest that developed nations should share their expertise and technology with lesser-developed countries, a gesture they say would help with mesothelioma diagnosis and management in these countries.
Those suffering from mesothelioma can read more about this devastating disease by visiting YourLegalGuide.com’s section devoted to this topic. Family members of patients who died as a result of mesothelioma can learn about their legal remedies by reading our article on toxic exposure deaths, which contains a wealth of information on lawsuits related to such deaths.