30. Everything is poison, there is poison in everything. Only the dose makes a thing not a poison. --Paracelsus, Father of Toxicology Thank You!
Editor's Notes
REPORT ON PESTICIDE POISONING IN THE PHILIPPINES, presented at the 7th GINC Meeting, Tokyo, Japan by Carissa Paz C. Dioquino, M.D. In the year 2000, the NPCIS in cooperation with the Department of Health participated in the WHO project to characterize poisoning incidents from pesticides from a global perspective. From April 2000 to March 2001, incidents of poisoning from pesticides in four regions in the Philippines were recorded according to a case record form prescribed by the WHO--Region 2, CAR, Region 6 and Region 11. The regions were chosen based on the high level of agricultural activities in the area. The study was initially intended to monitor poisoning activities for a nine-month period but this was extended to twelve months in three of the regions when additional funding from the government was obtained. A total of 273 cases of poisoning were reported in the four regions, 53.1% were male while 46.9% were female. Generally, the number of males in all the different age groups exceeded that of the females except in the age groups 11-15 and 16-20.
The most common place of exposure was in the rural home then the urban home and in less than 10% in the farm or field.
Insecticides account for 71.3% of the poisoning incidents followed by herbicides 10.2%. In about 10.9%, the exact identity of the pesticide was not known. Of the pesticides, pyrethroids were the culprits in 29.3% and organophosphates in 22%. Some of the most common pesticides used include cypermethrin, malathion, carbofuran, combination cyfluthrin, dichlorvos and propoxur and deltamethrin.
Recovery was the rule in 79.5% of cases. A total of sixteen deaths were reported over the year, many due to severe cases of organophosphate or organochlorine poisoning.
*ADOLESCENT HEALTH IN THE PHILIPPINES.ppt by Rosa Maria H. Nancho, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Philippine General Hospital
DDT: dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane The POPs are organochlorine pesticides , namely, aldrin, endrin, clordane, DDT, heptachlor, mirex, toxaphene and hexachlorobenzene which have been banned for agricultural or domestic uses in Europe, North America and many countries of South America in accordance with the Stockholm Convention (ratified in 2004). However, some are still in use – e.g. DDT to control malaria in some developing countries. Other POPS include industrial chemicals -- polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCB) and unintended byproducts (dibenzodioxins, dibenzofurans). These POPs or persistent toxic substances are controlled under the Stockholm Convention, a global treaty ratified by the international community and led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) calling for the elimination and/or phasing out of 12 POPs, called the "dirty dozen“ . They are typically lypophilic compounds, with low water solubility, that are resistant to environmental breakdown and accumulate in adipose tissue . They bio-concentrate in fish, wildlife and human tissues , highest levels are found in marine mammals . There is concern about their potential endocrine and developmental effects in humans, especially in children.
Goal of therapy: Reduce amount of poison taken up by the body.
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