High mesothelioma incidence reported in Israeli coastal town

The coastal city of Nahariya, in northern Israel, has one of the highest incidences of asbestos-related mesothelioma in the world, according information presented at a conference yesterday. Dr, Micha Bar-Hana, director of the Israeli Health Ministry's cancer registry, reported that the incidence of mesothelioma in Nahariya and environs reached 5.72 per 100,000 residents between 2002 and 2008. By comparison, the highest rate of mesothelioma in the world is in Genoa, Italy, with 5.8 cases for every 100,000 persons, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The only asbestos plant in Israel, which was closed in 1997, once operated in Nahariya. Health officials expect the incidence of mesothelioma to rise in the area due to the long latency period between asbestos exposure and the cancer. Dr. Avi Weiner, an occupational disease expert at Rambam Medical Center, described his recent treatment of a 93-year-old man with mesothelioma who had been exposed to asbestos 70 years prior. While most victims of the disease are former asbestos workers, he also described the cases of two wives who developed mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos particles on their husbands' work clothes. There were 606 cases of mesothelioma in Israel between 1990 and 2008. In recent years, the country has averaged 30 new cases a year.