A paraquat poisoning patient being treated at Bạch Mai Hospital (Photo: baogiaothong.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - Doctors from Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi have reported at least onepatient everyday hospitalised due to herbicide poisoning, popularly known asparaquat poisoning.
Thefatality rate after ingesting just 5ml of the chemical is 90 percent, doctorssaid.
Everyyear, about 1,000 people die of paraquat poisoning across the country.
NguyenTrung Nguyen, head of the Poison Control Centre of Bach MaiHospital, said the number of paraquat poisoning cases in 2015 at Bach MaiHospital was 300, with the figure rising to 500 last year.
Mostpatients drank the chemical to commit suicide, Nguyen said.
Theherbicide is quick-acting and non-selective, killing green plant tissue oncontact.
He saidpatients can only be saved if poisoned by small doses of up to threemillilitres.
Buttreatment is expensive, requiring blood filtration sessions costing up to 100million VND (4,400 USD), and the chances of survival are still slim, he said.
“Many people regret taking the herbicide after being hospitalised and receivingtreatment. But what’s painful about this is that there’s no way they can goback – because most of them die,” he said.
“Most ofthem will die within three days to three months, however intensively they aretreated. Paraquat is absorbed quickly, within two to six hours, and it causedsevere damage to the heart, lungs and liver,” Nguyen said.
Patientsmay feel better after receiving treatment, but are dying inside because oftissue that has been damaged.
“Dyingbecause of paraquat poisoning is scarier than other ways as the patients areawake and conscious until they die,” Nguyen said.
Paraquat, a chemical weed killer, and 2,4-D, anorganic compound, are used to control a broad range of weeds, but leavecereals, lawn turf, and grasslands relatively unaffected.
2,4-D paraquat can be found in many commercial lawn herbicide mixtures, and iswidely used as a weed killer for cereal crops, pastures, and orchards. Morethan 1,500 herbicide products contain 2,4-D as an active ingredient.
Breathing in Paraquat can cause lung damage and lead to a disease calledParaquat lung. Paraquat damages the body when it touches the lining of themouth, stomach, or intestines.
Long-term exposure to Paraquat may cause scarringof the lungs called pulmonary fibrosis.
On February 8, the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development issued a decree prohibiting the use of plant protectionproducts containing paraquat and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) inVietnam, after years of scientists repeatedly warning about its danger.
Theministry still allows the trade and use of the products for two years startingfrom when the ban became effective.
“We madethe transition time two years so that enterprises can gradually eliminate theseproducts,” said Hoang Trung, head of the Plant Protection Department under theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Regarding this, doctor Nguyen from Bach Mai Hospital said he wonders if thebuffer time is necessary.
“The sooner we ban this herbicide, the more peoplewe can be saved,” he said.-VNA
Thefatality rate after ingesting just 5ml of the chemical is 90 percent, doctorssaid.
Everyyear, about 1,000 people die of paraquat poisoning across the country.
NguyenTrung Nguyen, head of the Poison Control Centre of Bach MaiHospital, said the number of paraquat poisoning cases in 2015 at Bach MaiHospital was 300, with the figure rising to 500 last year.
Mostpatients drank the chemical to commit suicide, Nguyen said.
Theherbicide is quick-acting and non-selective, killing green plant tissue oncontact.
He saidpatients can only be saved if poisoned by small doses of up to threemillilitres.
Buttreatment is expensive, requiring blood filtration sessions costing up to 100million VND (4,400 USD), and the chances of survival are still slim, he said.
“Many people regret taking the herbicide after being hospitalised and receivingtreatment. But what’s painful about this is that there’s no way they can goback – because most of them die,” he said.
“Most ofthem will die within three days to three months, however intensively they aretreated. Paraquat is absorbed quickly, within two to six hours, and it causedsevere damage to the heart, lungs and liver,” Nguyen said.
Patientsmay feel better after receiving treatment, but are dying inside because oftissue that has been damaged.
“Dyingbecause of paraquat poisoning is scarier than other ways as the patients areawake and conscious until they die,” Nguyen said.
Paraquat, a chemical weed killer, and 2,4-D, anorganic compound, are used to control a broad range of weeds, but leavecereals, lawn turf, and grasslands relatively unaffected.
2,4-D paraquat can be found in many commercial lawn herbicide mixtures, and iswidely used as a weed killer for cereal crops, pastures, and orchards. Morethan 1,500 herbicide products contain 2,4-D as an active ingredient.
Breathing in Paraquat can cause lung damage and lead to a disease calledParaquat lung. Paraquat damages the body when it touches the lining of themouth, stomach, or intestines.
Long-term exposure to Paraquat may cause scarringof the lungs called pulmonary fibrosis.
On February 8, the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development issued a decree prohibiting the use of plant protectionproducts containing paraquat and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) inVietnam, after years of scientists repeatedly warning about its danger.
Theministry still allows the trade and use of the products for two years startingfrom when the ban became effective.
“We madethe transition time two years so that enterprises can gradually eliminate theseproducts,” said Hoang Trung, head of the Plant Protection Department under theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Regarding this, doctor Nguyen from Bach Mai Hospital said he wonders if thebuffer time is necessary.
“The sooner we ban this herbicide, the more peoplewe can be saved,” he said.-VNA
VNA
