[DAWN] The International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) on Tuesday advised the government to consider "exposure to soybean dust (aeroallergens)" as a cause of breathing difficulties being faced by residents of Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
's Keamari area.
So far, 14 people from different areas of Keamari have died and over 400 have been taken to different hospitals for treatment reportedly after inhaling toxic gas. Residents have complained of experiencing breathing difficulties, "burning sensation in the nose", watery eyes and itching in the throat.
ICCBS is an advanced research centre at the University of Karachi. The Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research and Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry are part of the research centre.
A letter sent today to Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani by Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, the director of ICCBS, said that the lab had examined blood and urine samples of people "exposed to toxic aerosols" as well as soybean dust samples collected from the port area. Dr Choudhary said that while the ICCBS was still "extensively engaged in deciphering the cause of this toxic exposure", the findings so far suggest that the symptoms being experienced by Keamari residents are a result of "overexposure to soybean dust".