Abstract
Pesticide poisoning remains a serious health threat especially in developing regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. The excess
pesticide poisoning related morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries has been attributed to inadequate
regulations governing the safe use of pesticides. The lack of regulations, along with inadequate enforcement, is related to increased
risk of food, water and air contamination, and direct contact with pesticides or their residues. We hereby present a rare case, in
which, an incident involving four (4) non-fatal and four (4) fatal occurred within 24hours of ethion pesticide poisoning. Ethion
is available and widely used by farmers in Botswana. In this case, it was recovered from an herbal homemade mixture allegedly
prepared to rid the victims of Sejeso (imaginary ailment claimed to arise from poisoning by sorcery). The information was gathered
from a 20-year-old male who had also ingested the preparation but survived, medical cards and doctors from the concerned district
hospital. Medico-legal autopsy findings for the 3 victims of paediatric-age were unremarkable while for the fourth, a 56-year-old
male, revealed multiple co-morbidities. Toxicology analysis of the victims’ stomach contents, vomitus and blood samples confirmed
the presence of ethion pesticide. The cause of death was determined as ingestion of a pesticide.
pesticide poisoning related morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries has been attributed to inadequate
regulations governing the safe use of pesticides. The lack of regulations, along with inadequate enforcement, is related to increased
risk of food, water and air contamination, and direct contact with pesticides or their residues. We hereby present a rare case, in
which, an incident involving four (4) non-fatal and four (4) fatal occurred within 24hours of ethion pesticide poisoning. Ethion
is available and widely used by farmers in Botswana. In this case, it was recovered from an herbal homemade mixture allegedly
prepared to rid the victims of Sejeso (imaginary ailment claimed to arise from poisoning by sorcery). The information was gathered
from a 20-year-old male who had also ingested the preparation but survived, medical cards and doctors from the concerned district
hospital. Medico-legal autopsy findings for the 3 victims of paediatric-age were unremarkable while for the fourth, a 56-year-old
male, revealed multiple co-morbidities. Toxicology analysis of the victims’ stomach contents, vomitus and blood samples confirmed
the presence of ethion pesticide. The cause of death was determined as ingestion of a pesticide.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | AJBSR.MS.ID.002120 |
| Pages (from-to) | 352 |
| Number of pages | 356 |
| Journal | American Journal of Biomedical Science & Research |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 11 2022 |