Babies exposed to smoke from a mine fire in Victoria's east eight years ago were overrepresented in hospital emergency department (ED) visits in the following 12 months, new research has found.
The findings are part of the Hazelwood Health Study that was established in the wake of the Latrobe Valley fire. It burned for six weeks in early 2014 and blanketed Morwell and surrounding areas in smoke.
The Latrobe Early Life Follow-up (ELF) Study focused on children who were in utero during the fire and children who were in their first year of life. They were compared to children from the same area who were not exposed to the smoke.
The Menzies Institute for Medical Research used anonymised ED and hospital admissions data, as well as approximate addresses. Air pollution data was provided by the CSIRO on the levels of PM2.5 particles in the smoke children and pregnant mothers were exposed to.
PM2.5 particles are so small they can pass through the lungs and enter the bloodstream as well as cross the placental barrier.
"What we found is that the mothers that were exposed to the highest level of smoke while they were pregnant were more likely to take their infant to the emergency department for allergies or rashes in their first year of life," said PhD student Myriam Ziou.
"It is important to know that in total, it's a small number of children within the Latrobe Valley that ended up in the emergency department for allergies or skin rash."
Ms Ziou said children who were under one when the fire started visited the emergency department more in the year following the fire than the children who weren't exposed to the smoke.
"They [were seen in] the emergency department for some respiratory conditions like bronchiolitis, like croup," she said.
Follow public health advice
Ms Ziou said there was no need for alarm when considering the findings.
"It's important to point out that while we saw an increase in emergency department presentations, we did not see an increase in hospital admissions," she said.
"So there's no reason to think, based on those results alone, that the conditions … were severe and required higher levels of care than usual."
Ms Ziou pointed out that the findings may have been influenced by the stress the fire caused.
"There's also a possibility that because there were higher levels of fear and concern following the fire, the parents would have been more cautious," she said.
"Instead of going straight to the GP for minor symptoms, they would have gone to the ED."
Ms Ziou says people need to avoid exposure to smoke wherever possible by wearing masks, staying indoors and following other public health recommendations.
"The best thing we can do in those fires is really to follow the current public health recommendations because they are constantly updated based on the evidence that is provided by scientists," she said.
