Monocrotophos poisoning through contaminated millet flour

Abstract

Several episodes of mass poisoning by organophosphates (OPs) have been reported from the developing countries. The diagnosis of OP-poisoning is mainly based on the characteristic clinical features and history of exposure to a known OP compound. Estimation of serum and red blood cell (RBC) cholinesterase activities are helpful in confi rming the diagnosis. However, there is controversy regarding a defi nite relationship between serum cholinesterase activity and the severity of clinical manifestations and prognosis. This report describes an episode of mass monocrotophos poisoning that occurred due to accidental ingestion of monocrotophos-contaminated millet (so called bavta) fl our involving eight severely poisoned persons. Clinical presentation included severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, pupil narrowing, and diffi culty breathing. On hospital admission, plasma cholinesterase (PChE) and especially RBC acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities correlated well with clinical symptoms presented by the patients. This case study highlights the need for clinicians to be aware of OP-pesticide poisoning from food sources and the need to look for depressed PChE and AChE activities that may point to OP exposure, so that OP-poisoning can be identifi ed immediately and patients can receive specific treatment, rather than general treatment for food poisoning.

Fatal monocrotophos poisoning by cutaneous absorption while sleeping: A remarkable case study

“…Patel et al 17 described accidental mass monocrotophos poisoning due to contaminated millet flour ingestion involving eight persons, including the death of a child estimated to ingest about 113 mg of pesticide. Papa et al 18 described fatal systemic monocrotophos poisoning in 55-year-old male floriculturist seven days post-exposure at initial serum concentration of 24.0 mg/l.…”

“…Patel et al. 17 described accidental mass monocrotophos poisoning due to contaminated millet flour ingestion involving eight persons, including the death of a child estimated to ingest about 113 mg of pesticide. Papa et al.…”

Simple and rapid colorimetric method for determination of erythrocyte and plasma cholinesterase activities and comparison with the standard Ellman’s method

“…However, most organophosphorus compounds inhibit BChE faster than AChE, and the inhibition of BChE is therefore a more sensitive indicator of the absorption of these agents. Moreover, the activities of AChE have been found to correlate well with the clinical status of OP-poisoned patients, as against BChE and their patterns of inhibition vary with the type of OP-pesticide [11][12][13] . Consequently, more information about the exposure of an individual to anticholinesterases can be obtained if both AChE and BChE activities are determined.…”