Eastern Band uses high tech tool to track asthma

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is trying to figure out what is making people sick with asthma.

The tribe received a $30,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to study asthma on the reservation. As part of the effort, health workers from the Cherokee Indian Hospital are using a hand-held computers designed for responding to bio-terrorism attacks to survey homes.

The workers are keeping track of environmental factors that could contribute to asthma, such as mold, smoking and housing conditions. Their data will be sent to the EPA to add to a national system.

Asthma rates in Western North Carolina, where the tribe is based, are 5 percent higher than the state average.

Get the Story:
High-tech hunt aims at asthma (The Asheville Citizen-Times 4/5)

$rl Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians - http://www.cherokee-nc.com
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, site 2 - http://www.nc-cherokee.com
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, unofficial - http://www.easternband.com