We recommend that bolus doses should be used with caution, and further studies should ascertain if oxytocin is equally effective in reducing blood loss when given at a slower rate.

Tobamoviruses are serious pathogens because they have extremely stable virions, they are transmitted by contact, and they often induce severe disease in crops. Knowledge of the routes of transmission and resilience of tobamovirus virions is essential in understanding the epidemiology of this group of viruses. Here, an isolate of the tobamovirus yellow tailflower mild mottle virus (YTMMV) was used to examine root-to-root transmission in soil and in a hydroponic growth environment. Root-to-root transmission occurred rarely, and when it occurred plants did not exhibit systemic movement of the virus from the roots to the shoots over a 30-day period. The resilience of YTMMV virions was tested in dried leaf tissue over time periods from one hour to one year under temperatures ranging from À80 to 160°C. Infectivity was maintained for at least a year when incubated at À80 or 22°C, or at fluctuating ambient temperatures of 0.8 to 44.4°C, but incubation under dry conditions at 160°C for >4 days eliminated infectivity. Exposure of virions to 0.1 M sodium hydroxide or 20% w/v skimmed milk solution for 30 min, treatments recommended for tobamovirus inactivation, did not abolish infectivity of YTMMV.

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We would like to thank the authors (1) for their interest in our paper and for sharing the results of a study of a similar nature that was done in Thailand from 2002 to 2004. We would like to highlight that the main product category involved in paediatric poisonings in our study was oral medications, with antipyretics and analgesics accounting for almost 16% of total poisonings. (2) In comparison to this, silica gels and mothballs only accounted for 9% of total poisonings. This is similar to what the authors have described, with antipyretic drugs being the commonest toxic cause of poisoning in their country. We note the relatively high mortality rate (3.1%) in the authors' setting and think that this may be due to differences in time to presentation and the more hazardous nature of the toxic substances ingested in their population, as compared to ours. As they pointed out, these disparities are likely due to the different social and cultural backgrounds between the two countries. We think that these differences may also be attributable to the 5-10 year time gap between the conduct of both studies. As such, we suggest that continual research on this subject be performed to shed more light on the ongoing trends related to paediatric poisoning in both countries. Lastly, we agree with them that prevention and prompt management of all cases of paediatric poisoning remain the two key cornerstones in reducing morbidity and mortality associated with this important public health problem.