Pesticide intoxications in the Centre of Portugal: three years analysis

Abstract

Pesticides are used in most countries around the world to protect agricultural and horticultural crops against damage. Poisoning by these toxicant agents occurs as a result of misuse or accidental exposure, and also by oral ingestion (voluntary or not).In Portugal, pesticide intoxications are still a cause of death, found in a considerable number of cases. The authors retrospectively examined the cases of pesticide poisoning in the Centre of Portugal, from autopsies performed in the Forensic Pathology Service of Coimbra's Delegation of the National Institute of Legal Medicine (NILM) and from other autopsies carried out in the Centre of Portugal, as well as some samples taken in hospitals in cases of suspected intoxication.In this study, the positive cases have been especially studied, in order to identify the pesticide used, as well as the etiology. The frequency of intoxications and its distribution by sex and age were also analyzed.Between January 2000 and December 2002, the Forensic Toxicology Laboratory received 639 pesticide analysis requests. In 2000, in a total of 149 analysis requests, 30 cases were positive, 63.3% from male individuals and 36.7% from female. In 2001, the analysis requests increased to 240 as well as the positive cases (43), 74.4% from male individuals and 25.6% from female and in 2002, the total cases analyzed also increased to 250, with 38 positive (73.6% from male individuals and 26.4% from female).Among the pesticides, organophosphorus insecticides still constitute the most important class detected in forensic intoxications, representing 63% of the total positive cases, followed by herbicides, with 33% of the positive results. Quinalphos is the most important organophosphorus insecticide, present in 32 of the 111 positive cases, followed by the herbicide paraquat, detected in 31 cases.The study emphasizes the increasing number of pesticide analyses, particularly relevant for the organophosphorus compounds and herbicides. Intoxication suspicion, accidental or voluntary, seems to be the most common cause of the incidents, for which analyses are requested, but it is also evident that the putative cause is unknown in a large number of cases. Therefore, more stringent legislation and enforcement regarding the sale and distribution of these toxic substances are needed.

Toxicity of the quinalphos metabolite 2‐hydroxyquinoxaline: Growth inhibition, induction of oxidative stress, and genotoxicity in test organisms

“…Quinalphos is frequently used in many countries and represents a source of toxicity to humans and vertebrate animals. A 3-year evaluation (2000)(2001)(2002) of forensic pesticide and herbicide intoxications in Portugal attributed about 29% of total cases to quinalphos (Teixeira et al, 2004).…”

Integrated Pest Management in Portugal: from Policies to Practices

“…In 2011, 1.9% of total food samples analyzed in Europe exceeded the legal Maximum Residue Levels (MRL), while in Portugal that percentage rose to 3.1% of collected food samples (4.9% in fruits and nuts and 2.8% in vegetables) [4,5]. Intoxications caused by misuse or accidental exposure, and also by oral ingestion (voluntary or not) of organophosphorus compounds and herbicides were reported [6,7]. The reduction of the negative effects of intensive agriculture and pesticide use has been one of the major concerns of European policies [1,8].…”

Determination of 13 Organic Toxicants in Human Blood by Liquid-Liquid Extraction Coupling High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

“…It is reported that poisoning cases with pesticides have been considered to be important causes of morbidity and mortality in all parts of the world. [5][6][7][8][9][10] ATDs, as the first choice in the treatment of depressive illness, are becoming increasingly used due to the rapid growth in population of depression-affected people worldwide. [11][12][13][14] Meanwhile, the abuse of ATDs has become a significant problem in societies across the world because of their easy availability and toxicological effect.…”