World Asthma Day - Tuesday 6 May 2003
6 May 2003
New figures released today on World Asthma Day estimate that one in 20 people in the world now has asthma.
According to new research, asthma is now one of the world’s most common long-term conditions. It affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide, which includes more than 2 million Australians.
World Asthma Day is being celebrated in more than 80 countries. It emphasises the importance of the asthma management team — the person with asthma, their doctor, pharmacist and asthma educator. The team’s objectives are to deliver the best possible lifestyle with the fewest possible symptoms to the person with asthma.
The National Asthma Council, the peak body for asthma in Australia, will use the 6th World Asthma Day to focus attention on asthma across the globe, stressing how increased asthma awareness and better asthma management will lessen the worldwide burden.
While the number of deaths due to asthma (one death in every 250 deaths recorded from all causes) is relatively low compared with other conditions, many asthma deaths are preventable.
Fortunately, in Australia, the number of deaths from asthma has plummeted from 964 in 1989 to 422 in 2001.
Professor Richard Beasley, from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand and author of the The Burden of Asthma Report commissioned by the Global Initiative for Asthma, said everyone must take action to decrease the global asthma problem.
Last Reviewed: 06 May 2003
