From March 29 till April 2 a large–scale medical screening of adults and children was held in Mozyr town (Gomel Region) within the joint EU/UNDP project “Combat the Negative Effects of the Chernobyl Disaster in Belarus.”

The screening was conducted in the premises of the Mozyr central clinic with the assistance of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Belarusian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education within the project component “Establishment of International Scientific and Practical Centre of Thyroid Disease”.

“This is the first medical screening conducted within the framework of the EU/UNDP project. The data obtained in the course of the mass medical examination will serve as a fundamental scientific platform forthe InternationalCenter, scheduled to open in the late 2010” — said project manager Andrew Pinigin.

Throughout the week doctors and laboratory assistants of the International Fund “Arnika” have been examining over 600 people among which 150 were children. Preliminary results of the medical screening show that people living in the contaminated areas need regular medical examinations and/orconsultations of qualified specialists.

The screening included ultrasonic examination of thyroid glands, anthropometry as well as thyroid hormones tests. Experience and long–term studies in Belarusshowed that the events of 1986 still have an adverse effect on people’s health. That is why medical specialists pay special attention to children who were born after the Chernobyl Disaster. Unfortunately, some anomalies and pathologies associated with both the thyroid gland and with the general physical development of children were revealed during the screening.

The analysis of the screening data is still in process but its preliminary assessment shows that cases of thyroid diseases were identified among young people who did not have thyroid treatment before, according to Maxim Luschik, DM. Even preliminary results of the screening serve as a solid justification of the necessity to provide local population in the Chernobyl–affected regions with information materials and make a special emphasis on the importance of people’s active involvement in the dynamic monitoring of their own health.

For more information, please contact Alena Sedach, PR Specialist of the project, tel. (+375 17) 256 14 57, mobile: (+375 44) 786 55 56, e–mail:  

Print version