2 people died, 1 person hospitalized due to milk poisoning: High possibility that the poison belongs to the pesticide group

SGGPO 10/20/2023 15:42

A test showed that the patient's body had a reduced enzyme, consistent with organophosphate poisoning.

Doctor treats patient in hospital

On October 20, Cho Ray Hospital (HCMC) announced that the man who was acutely poisoned after drinking milk was eligible for discharge after 6 days of intensive treatment.

Previously, on October 15, Mr. Pham Minh Tan (55 years old, Tien Giang ) drank 50ml of powdered milk and immediately felt dizzy, had a headache, had difficulty breathing, and felt nauseous. Five minutes later, he could not breathe and was not aware of his surroundings.

After emergency treatment at the local hospital, he was transferred to Ho Chi Minh City that same night.

Doctors determined that the patient suffered from acute poisoning due to extremely rapid changes after exposure to a type of milk. The patient was put on a high-flow ventilator, intravenous fluids, blood pressure stabilization, and blood filtration...

Up to now, the test results are almost normal, showing that all toxins have been removed from the body, and vital signs are stable. The patient is living normally and meets the criteria for discharge.

According to Dr. Le Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases, Cho Ray Hospital, the identification of the toxic substance is being urgently deployed to have the most effective intervention.

Based on the clinical and paraclinical progression of the poisoning, the inference now points towards groups with extremely high toxicity; colorless, odorless, tasteless so that the drinker cannot detect the abnormality; the toxin must be found on the market or created by a certain microorganism in the milk.

From there, doctors listed 5 poisons in order of most suspicion: Cyanide, organophosphate/carbamate pesticides, arsenic, strychnine, botulinum. These are highly toxic substances that cause death very quickly, come in many different forms but have in common that they are white, odorless and tasteless.

Of these 5 substances, only the organophosphate/carbamate pesticide group has a specific antidote, the rest are symptomatic treatment, resuscitation, mainly blood filtration. After localizing the toxic groups, the doctor will have a direction for further treatment.

Also according to Dr. Le Quoc Hung, a test showed that the patient's body had a reduced enzyme, consistent with the condition of a person poisoned by organophosphate drugs. However, the exact toxic substance will be announced by the authorities, when the results of the previous milk sample test are available.

Previously, as reported by SGGP, at around 6am on October 14, Ms. Pham Thi Phan discovered her son, Pham Van Yen (45 years old), dead at home. That same evening, Ms. Phan’s daughter attended the funeral and mixed 100ml of powdered milk for her mother to drink. Afterwards, Ms. Phan had symptoms of chest tightness, difficulty breathing, vomiting, and died about 5 minutes later.

Early morning of October 15, Mr. Pham Minh Tan came to help organize his mother's funeral, mixed 150ml of the same type of powdered milk to drink, then had a headache, dizziness, vomiting, and was taken to the emergency room at Vinh Long General Hospital by his family. Doctors suspected the patient had milk poisoning.

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