A report that sharply criticizes the federal government's research efforts and public health strategies projects that the rate of asthma cases will double by 2020. New cases of
asthma are increasing so rapidly that by the time another generation of children are born, the condition will strike 29 million Americans, according to research findings by the
Pew Environmental Health Commission at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
To slow these trends, the commission is calling for Congress and public health officials to launch an aggressive five-part campaign aimed at prevention. The plan suggests:
- establishing a 15-state tracking system within two years and a nationwide system within five years that would provide the necessary information on asthma trends,
causes and the role of the environment and prevention opportunities; - assembling an emergency task force at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within one year to conduct investigations into asthma deaths; and
- launching a public education campaign within two years that would highlight steps the public can take to combat asthma: key messages would focus on environmental factors that
contribute to developing or exacerbating the disease.
(Pew Environmental Commission, Donna Rohrer, 202/659-0330, http://pewenvirohealth.jhsph.edu)