History has taught us that war and disease go hand-in-hand. However, where conflict may suddenly come to a halt, disease lingers for several years. And as scars heal and close on the skin, others start to show on the lungs of affected civilizations. Asthma is often depicted as one of those scars, instigated by a combination of environmental hazards with psychological trauma associated with armed conflicts. Exposure to air pollutants is exacerbated in warzones, not only due to particles and chemicals released from bombings and oil well fires, but also the restricted behaviours and living conditions of civilians. And when hostilities cease and populations reinstate, the effects from those exposures, slowly but steadily, start to emerge. And now, armed conflict has struck Europe once again and the European Academy for Allergy and Clinical Immunology will be prepared to tackle an eventual increase in asthma prevalence in Europe and guide clinicians in providing the most adequate care for asthma patients exposed to the war.

WG Epidemiology (IG Environmental & Occupational Allergy)

Chair: João Cavaleiro Rufo 

Secretary: Inês Paciência