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Published Date: 2016-12-04 20:02:26
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed bleeding disorder - China: (AH) RFI
Archive Number: 20161204.4675611
UNDIAGNOSED BLEEDING DISORDER - CHINA: (ANHUI) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
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A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sat 3 Dec 2016
Source: Xinhua [edited]
Dozens of villagers in east China's Anhui province have fallen ill with symptoms similar to rodenticide poisoning, but investigators are yet to confirm the cause for their sickness.
21 people from 9 families in Xiaokou Township, Taihe County had been hospitalized as of Saturday [3 Dec 2016] with severe symptoms of poisoning, the county's health department said in a statement. Another 15 villagers had milder symptoms and were allowed to go home, it said.
The 1st 2 cases were reported on [25 Nov 2016], when LG and his wife were admitted to hospital with seizures, hematemesis, and blood in their urine. Doctors suspected that this was a result of consuming rat poison.
The subsequent investigation, however, found no traces of any harmful substance in samples of leftover food and water taken from their home in Maozhuang village. The couple had not dined out or been exposed to harmful chemicals. Similar symptoms were reported by many other villagers over the past week.
"My 4-year-old son was hospitalized on Thursday [1 Dec 2016]," said villager ZH. "The doctor said he had blood clotting problems."
The same problems were reported by Z's parents. Z, who works in a town 20-km away and is rarely home, showed no such symptoms in the checkup.
The disease prevention and control center in Fuyang City has joined the investigation, and it has taken samples of the villagers' food and water for further lab work.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[There are a number of things other than rodenticides that could cause bleeding disorders. Hemophilia, and Von Willebrands disease are a few familiar diseases that come to mind. However, these are hereditary or familial diseases and are unlikely to make their presence known suddenly, across multiple people and locations.
Overdose of some drugs, such as aspirin, could cause bleeding; but again, such an event across multiple locations and people within a small timeframe is unlikely.
Leukemia, chemo, or radiation therapies are also possible causes of bleeding disorders. However, there would likely be medical records to back this up, and there seem to be none of these situations occurring with this disorder.
Diseases such as leptospirosis or Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever would have other clinical signs and available testing that would lead more rapidly to a diagnosis.
Yet, the food is testing negative for rodenticides. There are numerous rodenticides that cause clotting factors to decrease, so one has to wonder whether the tests performed on the food covered a wide range of these or only one or 2 compounds.
Exposure to some thrombocytopenic agent would seem likely to occur through a common food or water source. So perhaps there will be more of an investigation into which rodenticide compounds were tested for, and what food all these people may have had in common. If there is a chemical being passed through air or water handling systems, perhaps this should be investigated.
If someone has additional information on these cases or a definitive diagnosis, please let us know. - Mod.TG
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed bleeding disorder - China: (AH) RFI
Archive Number: 20161204.4675611
UNDIAGNOSED BLEEDING DISORDER - CHINA: (ANHUI) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
************************************************** ********************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sat 3 Dec 2016
Source: Xinhua [edited]
Dozens of villagers in east China's Anhui province have fallen ill with symptoms similar to rodenticide poisoning, but investigators are yet to confirm the cause for their sickness.
21 people from 9 families in Xiaokou Township, Taihe County had been hospitalized as of Saturday [3 Dec 2016] with severe symptoms of poisoning, the county's health department said in a statement. Another 15 villagers had milder symptoms and were allowed to go home, it said.
The 1st 2 cases were reported on [25 Nov 2016], when LG and his wife were admitted to hospital with seizures, hematemesis, and blood in their urine. Doctors suspected that this was a result of consuming rat poison.
The subsequent investigation, however, found no traces of any harmful substance in samples of leftover food and water taken from their home in Maozhuang village. The couple had not dined out or been exposed to harmful chemicals. Similar symptoms were reported by many other villagers over the past week.
"My 4-year-old son was hospitalized on Thursday [1 Dec 2016]," said villager ZH. "The doctor said he had blood clotting problems."
The same problems were reported by Z's parents. Z, who works in a town 20-km away and is rarely home, showed no such symptoms in the checkup.
The disease prevention and control center in Fuyang City has joined the investigation, and it has taken samples of the villagers' food and water for further lab work.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[There are a number of things other than rodenticides that could cause bleeding disorders. Hemophilia, and Von Willebrands disease are a few familiar diseases that come to mind. However, these are hereditary or familial diseases and are unlikely to make their presence known suddenly, across multiple people and locations.
Overdose of some drugs, such as aspirin, could cause bleeding; but again, such an event across multiple locations and people within a small timeframe is unlikely.
Leukemia, chemo, or radiation therapies are also possible causes of bleeding disorders. However, there would likely be medical records to back this up, and there seem to be none of these situations occurring with this disorder.
Diseases such as leptospirosis or Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever would have other clinical signs and available testing that would lead more rapidly to a diagnosis.
Yet, the food is testing negative for rodenticides. There are numerous rodenticides that cause clotting factors to decrease, so one has to wonder whether the tests performed on the food covered a wide range of these or only one or 2 compounds.
Exposure to some thrombocytopenic agent would seem likely to occur through a common food or water source. So perhaps there will be more of an investigation into which rodenticide compounds were tested for, and what food all these people may have had in common. If there is a chemical being passed through air or water handling systems, perhaps this should be investigated.
If someone has additional information on these cases or a definitive diagnosis, please let us know. - Mod.TG
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