Editorial: Quicker detection is the key

Thursday, Aug. 2, 2001 | 8:49 a.m.

Scientists and researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in Fallon this week in an effort to find out what has caused an extraordinarily high rate of childhood leukemia in the Northern Nevada town. It is encouraging that investigators from the CDC and the state of Nevada are using sophisticated scientific testing techniques that can detect even trace amounts of chemicals and toxins, tests that weren't available a few years ago. But determining precisely what caused the sudden appearance of 14 childhood leukemia cases in just three years in Fallon may be difficult, if not impossible, in light of the time that already has elapsed.

It's not that uncommon for medical researchers to be frustrated by what triggers leukemia clusters or, for that matter, what causes many other life-threatening diseases. Getting an early start in investigating these diseases is critical, because it can save lives, so that is why it is promising that Senate Assistant Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., are working together on legislation that would create a national tracking system for chronic diseases. Reid has said the establishment of a comprehensive system would be an important tool to alert scientists quickly to the development of disease clusters.

Clinton recently traveled to Fallon where Reid held an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the leukemia clusters. And Clinton renewed national media interest in the creation of a disease tracking system two weeks ago when she spoke before the National Press Club. Not only are there problems in Fallon, Clinton noted, but all across the nation there are hidden hazards -- including toxins and chemicals found in our environment -- that can pose a threat to our health and safety. "A lot of the anxiety people express to me is based on their concern, but there is no factual basis to prove or disprove that concern, which is what I think we need the science to begin to prove so that we can answer the questions that people legitimately have," Clinton said.

Congress should create a national database that pinpoints the early onset of mysterious diseases that scientists have difficulty assessing what their exact cause is. Not only can early detection lead to the possibility of limiting the spread of the disease itself, but moving fast also allows researchers to possibly identify what caused the disease in the first place. That knowledge hopefully can be used by medical researchers and public health officials so that they can take steps to prevent these diseases from recurring.