PESHAWAR, June 5: Eighteen per cent of deaths in children are caused by asthma, doctors told a symposium here on Thursday, who called for more research to prevent people from falling a prey to the ailment.

The symposium was organized at the Khyber Teaching Hospital to highlight causes of asthma, and make people aware of the steps they can take to ward off the disease.

Dr Abdul Hamid said the reason why deaths from asthma were on the rise was lack of research on the part of doctors, and lack of awareness among the people concerning the disease.

He said that breast-feeding kept the children away from asthma, and stressed that mothers must feed their own milk to the newborns to keep them at bay from the disease.

He added that children should be protected against tobacco smoke and air pollution, and the right doctors should be contacted at the right time in case they developed problems.

Dr Mukhtiar Zaman Afridi, a chest specialist, disclosed that roadside shopkeepers and brick-kiln workers were four times more vulnerable to asthma than those working in other places.

He said allergy was also one of the main causes of asthma among the people.

The treatment of the disease was expensive and the poor patients suffered immensely because no funds were available from Zakat to give these patients free treatment, he said.

He said the people already suffering from asthma should continue their treatment, saying that it was entirely curable provided the people paid attention to the treatment.

Paediatrician Dr Nadim Khawar said asthma was common among the children, because the people do not know much about what safety precautions to take to fight the ailment.

Dr Irfan and Dr Sadia Ashraf also spoke on the occasion.