Higher levels of abuse of alcohol and drugs may be the reason homeless people in Dublin have much poorer health than their British counterparts, a meeting of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has been told.
A study of homeless men living in hostels in Dublin showed 84 per cent of them smoked. Almost two-thirds of regular drinkers consumed alcohol to a "hazardous or dangerous" level.
More than half reported having misused drugs, while 25 per cent were classified as having a drug problem, said Dr Tony Holohan of the Midland Health Board, who carried out the study with NUI Galway and the RCSI.
Another study, by health agencies including the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the National Disease Surveillance Centre, indicates that a large percentage of homeless people have undiagnosed illness.
Dr Patrick Wall, chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, said it was worrying that campylobacter bacteria might be totally responsible for a large increase in "non-salmonella" cases of food-borne illness in the Republic. Campylobacter infections are the most frequently diagnosed bacterial cause of infectious intestinal disease, he noted. But Little was known about its transmission and incidence in Ireland.
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