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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iran
Index
During the 1970s, apart from a high infant mortality rate, the
chief causes of death were gastrointestinal, respiratory, and
parasitic diseases. The incidence of cancer, diabetes, and heart
disease was increasing. Several contagious diseases, such as grippe
and influenza, conjunctivitis, scarlet fever, whooping cough,
pulmonary tuberculosis, and typhoid fever were common. There is no
evidence that the incidence of these diseases or the major causes
of mortality have declined during the 1980s.
Drug addiction was a serious problem before the Revolution and
reportedly has worsened since 1979. The Ministry of Health
estimated in 1986 that there may have been as many as 1 million
addicts in the country. Opium is the most commonly used drug. Since
the end of the nineteenth century, opium has been smoked as a
recreational drug at social gatherings. The Shia clergy have tried
to discourage this practice by declaring the use of opium
religiously prohibited. There is also some heroin use in the
country.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Ministry of Health carried out
vaccination campaigns in both urban and rural areas. Periodic
campaigns have included immunizations against measles,
tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and
poliomyelitis for infants and children, and general vaccinations
against smallpox and cholera. These campaigns have prevented the
outbreak of major epidemics.
Data as of December 1987
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