How many people get organophosphate poisoning each year in the US?
12523440#21
Organophosphate pesticides are one of the top causes of poisoning worldwide, with an annual incidence of poisonings among agricultural workers varying from 3-10% per country.
Organophosphate poisoning
12523440#0
Organophosphate poisoning is poisoning due to organophosphates (OPs). Organophosphates are used as insecticides, medications, and nerve agents. Symptoms include increased saliva and tear production, diarrhea, vomiting, small pupils, sweating, muscle tremors, and confusion. While onset of symptoms is often within minutes to hours, some symptoms can take weeks to appear. Symptoms can last for days to weeks.
Organophosphate poisoning occurs most commonly as a suicide attempt in farming areas of the developing world and less commonly by accident. Exposure can be from drinking, breathing in the vapors, or skin exposure. The underlying mechanism involves the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), leading to the buildup of acetylcholine (ACh) in the body. Diagnosis is typically based on the symptoms and can be confirmed by measuring butyrylcholinesterase activity in the blood. Carbamate poisoning can present similarly.
Prevention includes banning very toxic types of organophosphates. Among those who work with pesticides the use of protective clothing and showering before going home is also useful. In those who have organophosphate poisoning the primary treatments are atropine, oximes such as pralidoxime, and diazepam. General measures such as oxygen and intravenous fluids are also recommended. Attempts to decontaminate the stomach, with activated charcoal or other means, has not been shown to be useful. While there is a theoretical risk of health care workers taking care of a poisoned person becoming poisoned themselves, the degree of risk appears to be very small.
OPs are one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide. There are nearly 3 million poisonings per year resulting in two hundred thousand deaths. Around 15% of people who are poisoned die as a result. Organophosphate poisoning has been reported at least since 1962.
Organophosphate poisoning
48340#30
Pesticide use is widespread in Latin America, as around US $3 billion are spend each year in the region. It has been recorded that pesticide poisonings have been increasing each year for the past two decades. It was estimated that 50–80% of the cases are unreported. It is indicated by studies that organophosphate and carbamate insecticides are the most frequent source of pesticide poisoning.
Pesticide
816088#11
Acute poisoning is probably most common in agricultural areas in Asia, where many small farmers are affected. Poisoning may be due to occupational or accidental exposure or intentional self-harm. Precise numbers of chlorpyrifos poisonings globally are not available. Pesticides are used in an estimated 200,000+ suicides annually with tens of thousands due to chlorpyrifos. Organophosphates are thought to constitute two thirds of ingested pesticides in rural Asia. Chlorpyrifos is among the commonly used pesticides used for self-harm.
Chlorpyrifos
488743#37
It has been estimated that more than 40,000 people per year seek medical attention for carbon monoxide poisoning in the United States. 95% of carbon monoxide poisoning deaths in the United States are due to gas space heaters. In many industrialized countries carbon monoxide is the cause of more than 50% of fatal poisonings. In the United States, approximately 200 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with home fuel-burning heating equipment. Carbon monoxide poisoning contributes to the approximately 5613 smoke inhalation deaths each year in the United States. The CDC reports, "Each year, more than 500 Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, and more than 2,000 commit suicide by intentionally poisoning themselves." For the 10-year period from 1979 to 1988, 56,133 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning occurred in the United States, with 25,889 of those being suicides, leaving 30,244 unintentional deaths. A report from New Zealand showed that 206 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning in the years of 2001 and 2002. In total carbon monoxide poisoning was responsible for 43.9% of deaths by poisoning in that country. In South Korea, 1,950 people had been poisoned by carbon monoxide with 254 deaths from 2001 through 2003. A report from Jerusalem showed 3.53 per 100,000 people were poisoned annually from 2001 through 2006. In Hubei, China, 218 deaths from poisoning were reported over a 10-year period with 16.5% being from carbon monoxide exposure.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
371486#20
"Most estimates concerning the extent of acute pesticide poisoning have been based on data from hospital admissions which would include only the more serious cases. The latest estimate by a WHO task group indicates that there may be 1 million serious unintentional poisonings each year and in addition 2 million people hospitalized for suicide attempts with pesticides. This necessarily reflects only a fraction of the real problem. On the basis of a survey of self-reported minor poisoning carried out in the Asian region, it is estimated that there could be as many as 25 million agricultural workers in the developing world suffering an episode of poisoning each year." In Canada in 2007 more than 6000 cases of acute pesticide poisoning occurred.
Pesticide poisoning
12523440#24
Under a 1988 amendment to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates organophosphate pesticides Its focus was initially on registering pesticides for use on food crops. No pesticide can be sold in the United States before the EPA has reviewed the manufacture's application for registration and determined that the use of the product will not present an unreasonable risk to the public or the environment. In 1996, with the passage of the Food Quality Protection Act, Congress required the EPA to reassess all existing pesticide tolerances with specific consideration for children. This resulted in a 10-year review process of the health and environmental effects of all pesticides, beginning with the organophosphates. As part of that process, in 1999 the EPA announced a ban the use of organophosphate pesticide methyl parathion and significant restrictions on the use of another OP, azinphos methyl, in what they called "kid's food". The review process was concluded in 2006 and eliminated or modified thousands of other uses of pesticides. Other legislative action has been taken to protect children from the risks of organophosphates.
Organophosphate poisoning
959629#25
According to the EPA, organophosphate use in 2004 accounts for 40% of all insecticide products used in the United States. Out of concerns for potential hazards of organophosphate exposure to child development, the EPA began phasing out forms of organophosphates used indoors in 2001. While it is used in forestry, urban, and public health spraying (mosquito abatement programs, etc.) as well, the general population has been observed to have low exposure . Thus, the primary affected population that faces exposure to organophosphates are farmworkers, especially those in countries that have fewer restrictions on its usage, such as in India.
Organophosphate
959629#18
Many "organophosphates" are potent nerve agents, functioning by inhibiting the action of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in nerve cells. They are one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide, and are frequently intentionally used in suicides in agricultural areas. Organophosphosphate pesticides can be absorbed by all routes, including inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption. Their inhibitory effects on the acetylcholinesterase enzyme lead to a pathological excess of acetylcholine in the body. Their toxicity is not limited to the acute phase, however, and chronic effects have long been noted. Neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine (which is affected by organophosphate pesticides) are profoundly important in the brain's development, and many organophosphates have neurotoxic effects on developing organisms, even from low levels of exposure. Other organophosphates are not toxic, yet their main metabolites, such as their oxons, are. Treatment includes both a pralidoxime binder and an anticholinergic such as atropine.
Organophosphate
959629#35
As of 2013, thirty-six types of organophosphates were registered for use in the United States. Organophosphates are currently used in a variety of environments (e.g. agriculture, gardens and veterinary practices), however, several notable OPs have been discontinued for use. This includes parathion, which is no longer registered for any use, and chlorpyrifos (as mentioned previously), which is no longer registered for home use. And again, other than for agricultural use, the OP diazinon has been banned in the U.S.
Organophosphate
371486#3
Self-poisoning with agricultural pesticides represents a major hidden public health problem accounting for approximately one-third of all suicides worldwide. It is one of the most common forms of self-injury in the Global South. The World Health Organization estimates that 300,000 people die from self-harm each year in the Asia-Pacific region alone. Most cases of intentional pesticide poisoning appear to be impulsive acts undertaken during stressful events, and the availability of pesticides strongly influences the incidence of self poisoning. Pesticides are the agents most frequently used by farmers and students in India to commit suicide.
Pesticide poisoning
12523440#6
Neurotoxic effects have also been linked to poisoning with OP pesticides causing four neurotoxic effects in humans: cholinergic syndrome, intermediate syndrome, organophosphate-induced delayed polyneuropathy (OPIDP), and chronic organophosphate-induced neuropsychiatric disorder (COPIND). These syndromes result after acute and chronic exposure to OP pesticides.
Organophosphate poisoning
12523440#15
Organophosphates inhibit AChE, causing OP poisoning by phosphorylating the serine hydroxyl residue on AChE, which inactivates AChE. AChE is critical for nerve function, so the irreversible blockage of this enzyme, which causes acetylcholine accumulation, results in muscle overstimulation. This causes disturbances across the cholinergic synapses and can only be reactivated very slowly, if at all. Paraoxonase (PON1) is a key enzyme involved in OP pesticides and has been found to be critical in determining an organism's sensitivity to OP exposure.
Organophosphate poisoning