Poison threat to immunity

Press, 16 August 1976, Page 6

Poison threat to immunity

NZPA-Reuter Milan. The poison gas that con-| laminated the north Italian; town of Seveso last month, could destroy the inhabitants' immunity to infection — and even a common cold could be fatal, according to an expert.

The warning came from Professor Ton That Tung, of Hanoi, a Vietnamese expert on defoliants, who was quoted by the Italian magazine, "Tempo.” The professor has been closely involved in treating people suffering from the effects of defoliants used by the Americans in the Indo-; China war. The deadly, chemical dioxin, which leaked from a Swiss-owned: factory in Seveso, is used ini

the manufacture of defoliants. At least five more of the pregnant women living in the contaminated area near the factory have now requested abortions, according to doctors at Milan’s Mangiagalli Clinic. The first legal abortions in Italian history were performed on three young Seveso women at the clinic on Friday despite strong criticism. Three more are already on the waiting list.

Senior health officials have said there is a danger that babies born to women exposed to the chemical could be born deformed. More than 110 Seveso women are in the first three months of pregnancy — the most critical period, according to scientists.