Letter To The Editor: The Hibakusha Syndrome - A New Nosology

Dear Sir:

In the immediate years following the August 1945 A-bomb explosion on Hiroshima, doctors began documenting clinical complaints from those who were exposed to the radiation. The patients were classified as “Hibakusha” (explosion) affected persons.

A similar verbiage can now be seemingly seen appropiate to be used for victims of other disasters, i.e. Seveso chemical leak, Bhopal gas tragedy, Chernobyl leak etc.

In general, this nosology could be applied as a standard nomenclature to any tragedy of grave proportions with a particular pattern of ailment, apparently attributable to a single cause or event, affecting a mass of people.

This standardization is essential before such documented cases spill over into a nebulous, non-specific myriad of subcategories particularly in a world of fast developing medical databases.

Laxmipuram P. SriVatsa 163 South Gordon Way Los Altos, California 94022 USA