Chemical Weapons and public health: assessing impact and responses

Ekzayez, Abdulkarim; Flecknoe, Daniel; Lillywhite, Louis; Patel, Preeti; Papamichail, Andreas; Elbahtimy, Hassan

doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdz145

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Nerve agents are a class of chemical warfare agents that have been used by various terrorist groups in recent years and have the potential for large-scale military use. − These chemical agents are organophosphate compounds, which act by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, leading to acetylcholine accumulation, respiratory paralysis, and death. ,, Nerve agents are classified as G- or V-series, and V-series agents are phosphonothioate compounds, which have been developed more recently than G-series agents. ,, Additionally, V-series nerve agents are more toxic than G-series agents . Due to the potential of nerve agents to be used for targeted attacks on individuals, populations, and strategic resources, , reliable detection of these compounds over a wide range of environmental parameters is crucial for defense against these lethal agents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MOF-Enabled Electrochemical Sensor for Rapid and Robust Sensing of V-Series Nerve Agents at Low Concentrations

Marlar,

Harb

2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Among nerve agents, V-series nerve agents are some of the most toxic, making low-concentration detection critical for the protection of individuals, populations, and strategic resources. Electrochemical sensors are ideally suited for the real-time and infield sensing of these agents. While V-series nerve agents are inherently nonelectroactive, they can be hydrolyzed to electroactive products compatible with electrochemical sensing. Zr(IV) MOFs are next-generation nanoporous materials that have been shown to rapidly catalyze the hydrolysis of nerve agents. This work makes use of these nanomaterials to develop, for the first time, an MOFenabled electrochemical sensor for V-series nerve agents. Our work demonstrates that the VX thiol hydrolysis product can be electrochemically detected at low concentrations using commercially available gold electrodes. We demonstrate that low-concentration thiol oxidation is an irreversible reaction that is dependent on both mass transport and adsorption. Demeton-S-methylsulfon, a VX simulant, is used to demonstrate the full range of sensor operation that includes hydrolysis and electrochemical detection. We demonstrate that MOF-808 rapidly, selectively, and completely hydrolyzes demeton-S-methylsulfon to less-hazardous dimethyl phosphate and 2-ethylsulfonylethanethiol. Low-concentration measurements of 2-ethylsulfonylethanethiol are performed by using electrochemical techniques. This sensor has a limit of detection of 30 nM or 7.87 μg/L for 2-ethylsulfonylethanethiol, which is near the nerve agent exposure limit for water samples established by the United States military. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of rapid, robust electrochemical sensing of V-series nerve agents at low concentrations for in-field applications.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MOF-Enabled Electrochemical Sensor for Rapid and Robust Sensing of V-Series Nerve Agents at Low Concentrations

Marlar,

Harb

2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…(Evison et al, 2002). The bombs are believed to have contained a combination of mustard gas and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin and VX gas (Ekzayez et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another example of a genocide attempt that is severe and targeted a Kurdish community is the Anfal campaign in the 1980s (Moradi et al, 2019), which included the chemical attack on Halabja city, which targeted the Kurdish population of Iraq. The physical and psychological trauma of these events is still felt today and many survivors and their families are struggling to cope with their lasting effects (Ekzayez et al, 2020). The Anfal campaign was one extended genocidal attack out of many other attacks against Kurds, including the killing of thousands of Kurdish Failis in the 1970s to 1980s and the genocide of Kurdish Yazidis after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) invasion in 2014 (D. R. Ahmed 2022a, 2022c; D. R. Ahmed & Heun 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Holocaust to Anfal: The impact of genocide and cross-generational trauma on the mental health of Kurds

Ahmed

2023

Int J Soc Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Genocide attempts are among the most severe traumatic events that are transmitted across generations. However, it may also prove the strength and survivability as well as the vulnerability of the targeted group. Anfal and chemical attacks on Halabja on Iraqi Kurds that targeted their annihilation had a devastating impact. Many survivors and their generations are still dealing with their effects on psychological disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. To address the psychological effects of these tragic events on survivors and their generations and propose the actions to be taken, this article explores the psychological trauma and problems caused by attempted genocide and chemical attacks in the case of Anfal campaign. These effects require more research to fully understand the long-term effects of these tragedies, as well as support and provision of comprehensive psychological and mental health interventions to their survivors and generations.

show abstract

“…Although a recent uptick of potentially toxic exposures (anti-riot gear, weapons of mass destruction) to health care workers, few have routine experience in dealing with these agents. 1 Hazardous material (HAZMAT) protocols require health care providers to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for potentially contaminated patients, yet many providers still question whether or not to delay resuscitative efforts. 2 While the importance of donning PPE is clear in principle, in the heat of resuscitation, it is not always so apparent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Personal Protection Equipment on Intubation Times

Doukas

Arquilla

Halpern

et al. 2021

Prehosp. Disaster med.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Hazardous material (HAZMAT) protocols require health care providers to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for contaminated patients. Multiple levels of PPE exist (level D - level A), providing progressively more protection. Emergent endotracheal intubation (ETI) of victims can become complicated by the cumbersome nature of PPE. Study Objective: The null hypothesis was tested that there would be no difference in time to successful ETI between providers in different types of PPE. Methods: This randomized controlled trial assessed time to ETI with differing levels of PPE. Participants included 18 senior US Emergency Medicine (EM) residents and attendings, and nine US senior Anesthesiology residents. Each individual performed ETI on a mannequin (Laerdal SimMan Essential; Stavanger, Sweden) wearing the following levels of PPE: universal precautions (UP) controls (nitrile gloves and facemask with shield); partial level C (PC; rubber gloves and a passive air-purifying respirator [APR]); and complete level C (CC; passive APR with an anti-chemical suit). Primary outcome measures were the time in seconds (s) to successful intubation: Time 1 (T1) = inflation of the endotracheal tube (ETT) balloon; Time 2 (T2) = first ventilation. Data were reported as medians with Interquartile Ranges (IQR, 25%-75%) or percentages with 95% Confidence Intervals (95%, CI). Group comparisons were analyzed by Fisher’s Exact Test or Kruskal-Wallis, as appropriate (alpha = 0.017 [three groups], two-tails). Sample size analysis was based upon the power of 80% to detect a difference of 10 seconds between groups at a P = .017; 27 subjects per group would be needed. Results: All 27 participants completed the study. At T1, there was no statistically significant difference (P = .27) among UP 18.0s (11.5s-19.0s), PC 21.0s (14.0s-23.5s), or CC 17.0s (13.5s-27.5s). For T2, there was also no significant (P = .25) differences among UP 24.0s (17.5s-27.0s), PC 26.0s (21.0s-32.0s), or CC 24.0s (19.5s-33.5s). Conclusion: There were no statistically significant differences in time to balloon inflation or ventilation. Higher levels of PPE do not appear to increase time to ETI.

show abstract

Chemical Weapons and public health: assessing impact and responses

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

MOF-Enabled Electrochemical Sensor for Rapid and Robust Sensing of V-Series Nerve Agents at Low Concentrations

MOF-Enabled Electrochemical Sensor for Rapid and Robust Sensing of V-Series Nerve Agents at Low Concentrations

From Holocaust to Anfal: The impact of genocide and cross-generational trauma on the mental health of Kurds

The Impact of Personal Protection Equipment on Intubation Times

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About