Leukaemia doctors examine Arafat

Physicians specialising in the treatment of leukaemia were examining ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat today to determine whether he suffers from the blood disorder, Palestinian sources said.

Arafat, 75, has been sick for the past two weeks and blood tests have shown he has a low platelet count – a possible symptom of leukaemia, other cancers or a number of other maladies.

Arafat received a transfusion of platelets shortly after being taken on Friday to France for treatment at the Hopital d’Instruction des Armees de Percy, a military teaching hospital southwest of Paris that specialises in blood disorders and trauma care.

A Palestinian official said there was a strong possibility that Arafat was suffering from leukaemia and that a team of French physicians specialising in the disorder had examined the Palestinian leader on Friday.

“It looks like it’s leukaemia,” the official said. “They are trying to find out if in fact it is leukaemia, and if so, what type. They are trying to see what is the best way to treat it.”

Arafat could remain in France for four to five weeks, said the official, who was the first Palestinian to confirm that leukaemia was suspected. Another Palestinian official said Arafat had undergone a CT scan and that the results were negative.

A contingent of about 18 Palestinian officials flew in with Arafat, including Mohammed Rashid, his financial adviser, Mohammed Dahlan, the former security chief in Gaza chief of staff Ramzi Khoury and top aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh.

During Arafat’s illness, Palestinian officials have blamed the flu and gallstones. But on Wednesday, he took a turn for the worse – collapsing and briefly losing consciousness – and doctors admitted they did not know the cause of the low platelet count.

Platelets are blood components that aid in clotting. A low count can be caused by many medical problems, including bleeding ulcers, colitis, leukaemia and lymphoma, liver disease, lupus and chickenpox.