A chronicle of the medical disaster in newspapers:
2000
HIGH USE OF ADDCTIVE, DOUBTFUL DRUGS AT UNION CARBIDE HOSPITAL from the Chronicle 5/3/00. A report from the International Medical Commission expressed concern over the prescription of Corex, an opium derivative, over a prolonged period. In some cases at Union Carbide funded dispensaries it was prescribed for up to ten months which is long enough for addiction to develop. Also, basic medical examinations for respiratory diseases common in survivors like asthma and tuberculosis were very frequently neglected, leading to the possibility of the prescription of the this opium derivative as an expectorant for a long period.
HARD TIMES AHEAD FOR BHOPAL GAS VICTIMS from The Hindu 1/10/00. A doctor at Gandhi Medical College projected that an abnormal increase in cases of malignancy and mutogenic disorders by the year 2001 and after could be one the long-term effects of MIC as it takes approximately 17 years for malignancy to develop. Victim’s body tissues do not receive adequate oxygen; this damage is irreversible and leads to mutogenic changes and changes in the DNA structure.
MISERIES OF GAS SURVIVORS CONTINUE from the Chronicle 2/12/00. An ICMR report found that almost one-fourth of the exposed population experiences chronic illnesses connected to the diseases of the respiratory, gastro-intestinal, reproductive, musculo-skeletal, neurological and other systems, as well as an increased vulnerability to secondary infections. Although doctors involved with exposed persons note an increase in tuberculosis, cancers and infertility almost no data exists as work on almost all recommended research was stopped in 1994.
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