Case Report: Victims of the Long Term Effects of Chemical Weapons on Health in Kurdistan of Iraq

Author: Kawa Dizaye

Extensive exposure to chemical weapons such as mustard gas, nerve gas and
cyanide causes high mortality, morbidity, injuries, and chronic side effects in
vital organs, especially the respiratory tract.
Globally, chemical weapons have been documented as having been used since
429 BC, when they were used by the Spartans in the Peloponnesian War. In
the First World War (WW1) the use of chemical agents caused an estimated
1,300,000 casualties, including 90,000 deaths. Chemical weapons were heavily
used by Iraq against Iranian soldiers between1984-1986, then, against the
Iraqi Kurds in Sheikh Wasan and Balisan valley, during April 1987 and in
Halabja on 18th March 1988