Vienna (dpa) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is
sending eight mobile X-ray machines to Haiti to diagnose thousands
who were injured in the earthquake there, the organization said
Friday in Vienna.
Trauma care for Haiti's estimated 250,000 injured is currently one
of the most pressing health issues, according to the Pan American
Health Organization.
The German-made machines were being shipped via the Dominican
Republic to Haiti, to be used in field hospitals in the capital
Porte-au-Prince, Jacmel and other areas, the UN nuclear agency said.
Besides identifying bone fractures and other internal injuries,
the units will be used to diagnose diseases caused indirectly by the
seismic disaster.
The equipment would be vital in coming months, "with the rainy
season approaching and thousands homeless, we'll start to see a spate
of respiratory infections in children, and other ailments where
X-rays are important for the diagnosis," said IAEA technical
cooperation official Juan Antonio Casas-Zamora.
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