Paraquat poisoning kills 1,000 every year

Doctors from Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi have reported at least one patient everyday hospitalised due to herbicide poisoning, popularly known as paraquat poisoning.
Paraquat poisoning kills 1,000 every year ảnh 1A 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
VNA

See more

Doctors conduct a preliminary health screening for a wheelchair-bound resident in Dong Dang town, Cao Loc district, Lang Son province. (Photo: VNA)

Free medical checkups provided for border residents

Running from April 12-13, the activity forms part of the 9th Vietnam–China Border Defence Friendship Exchange Programme, scheduled for April 16-17 in Vietnam’s Lang Son province and China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The city’s public Eye Hospital is currently located on Hai Ba Trung street in Hoan Kiem district. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi invests in new 28 million USD eye hospital

The decision comes amid persistent overcrowding in the city's existing eye hospitals, particularly in public healthcare facilities, which have struggled to meet the growing demand for eye care services.

A medical professional is scanning the QR code to register for organ donation. (Photo: VNA)

Over 200 medical staff pledge organ donation in transformative campaign

At the launching ceremony for the campaign at the hospital on March 25, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Tuan Canh, NOH Director underscored organ donation is a symbol of human compassion that transcends life itself, with each donated liver, kidney, cornea or tissue able offer a life-saving opportunity to those teetering on the edge of death.