Taniguchi has difficulty breathing properly as his rib bones dug into his heart and lungs after having laid down on his stomach for one year and nine months for the treatment of his burnt back. Photos: JEFF COOKE/ICRC
Seventy years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Red Cross hospitals are still treating thousands of survivors and identifying new links between radiation exposure and fatal illnesses.
Initially, many medical experts expected the effect of radiation to diminish within 10 to 20 years. Contrary to this assumption, it is now clear that these atomic bombs have caused lifelong illnesses. New cases of cancer and leukaemia rates are still emerging, and the number of atomic bomb survivors developing heart disease is rising.
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