While speaking to the media, the state’s chief health officer, Catherine McDougall, revealed that two out of five patients have spent a couple of days in hospital after they experienced symptoms that include blood in the urine or joint swelling.
Five people, including one child, were reported hospitalized with symptoms of brodifacoum toxicity in Queensland, Australia. According to the investigation which is still underway, police officials suspect the source of brodifacoum (active ingredient in rat poison) contamination may have been from a fast food chain in Logan, south of Brisbane.
‘Coincidence Is Unlikely’
While speaking to the media, the state’s chief health officer, Catherine McDougall, revealed that two out of five patients have spent a couple of days in hospital after they experienced symptoms that include blood in the urine or joint swelling.
The medical officer added that the three other individuals had very minor symptoms of rat poisoning.
Talking about the cases, Dr McDougall told the media on Tuesday, “It’s not been deemed as suspicious, but it’s important that we’re considering all options and police are experts in this space. What this investigation involved is interviewing the families to try and understand where they’ve been, where they’ve eaten, what any connection might be between the different families.”
She added, “It involves going to their homes, reviewing their pantry, finding things to test and see if we can actually determine a source. A coincidence is unlikely given how rare it is, and certainly the toxicology links them together. So, what we’re finding in the blood tests is the same in all five people.”
What Is Brodifacoum Toxicity?
Brodifacoum is a blood-thinning poison dyed blue in colour and can reduce the clotting power of blood. ScienceDirect defines brodifacoum as a rodenticide which is widely used for rat control. Although this drug is less risky than the others, people may show the following symptoms when they come in contact with brodifacoum:
- Bleeding gums
- Excessive bleeding from minor cuts
- Increased tendency to bruise
- Blood in urine and faeces
- Nausea and vomiting may occur soon after ingestion
Cause Of Food Poisoning
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) food poisoning is generally caused by infections with microbes, viruses, bacteria, and parasites. It explains, “Harmful chemicals also cause some cases of food poisoning. Microbes can spread to food at any time while the food is grown, harvested or slaughtered, processed, stored, shipped, or prepared.”
Follow TheHealthSite.com for all the latest health news and developments from around the world.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter Today!
Leave a Reply