Health

Student poisoned by rat poison suffers 'heart and brain damage'

VN (according to VnExpress) January 24, 2025 18:10

Among the 37 students in Tuyen Quang poisoned by rat poison being treated at Bach Mai Hospital, many have brain damage and affected heart function.

Các bệnh nhi được điều trị tại Trung tâm Chống độc, Bệnh viện Bạch Mai. Ảnh: Nguyên Hà
Students poisoned by rat poison are being treated at the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital. Photo:NGUYEN HA

On January 24, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, Director of the Pediatric Center, Bach Mai Hospital, said that he was treating 32 students from grades 1 to 5 at Phu Binh Primary School, Tuyen Quang City, who had mistakenly ingested rat poison. The children were tested for indicators of damage due to poisoning, toxins in urine, magnetic resonance imaging, and echocardiography. Of these, 1 child had a seizure at the hospital, 2 children had brain damage, and some showed signs of heart function problems.

The National Children's Hospital is also treating five children in the same case. Test results from the National Institute of Forensic Medicine showed that the children's urine tested positive for the rat poison fluoroacetate.

"All the children are conscious, their health is being closely monitored and they are being treated according to the protocol," said Dr. Nam, adding that the children's condition is currently unpredictable and depends on the next developments, at least after the first few days.

These students were poisoned after drinking water from red or blue plastic tubes. Earlier, on the morning of January 21, a student left the school grounds and went to the tea hill next to the school to play and picked up a bag containing many red and blue plastic tubes. He took one tube back to school and invited a friend to drink it late in the morning. That afternoon, many other students also went to the tea hill and took these tubes back to school to share and drink, after which they developed unusual symptoms.

A parent taking care of her child at the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital, said her second-grade daughter drank about 1-2 drops given to her by a friend. "She said the medicine smelled like candy syrup, but it tasted bitter so she spit it out," the parent said.

Another parent said that on the afternoon of the incident, their child came home with a stomachache. Family members questioned the child but the child did not say anything. It was not until the homeroom teacher called to inform them that the family took the child to the hospital for a check-up. At this time, the child said that he had taken about 2 drops of "pink syrup".

Health authorities recorded that 7 children "drank a significant amount" from 1/3 to one tube, with severe poisoning and symptoms of headache, vomiting, and dizziness. The remaining children drank 1-3 drops.

Doctors recommended that the school check all children who had ingested the above liquid or any other suspected chemicals and take them to the hospital. The school and the family should notify the investigating agency and the authorities to find the cause, ensure that no other toxic substances are missed and that no children who have been poisoned are missed.

Loại thuốc diệt chuột mà các học sinh uống. Ảnh: Nguyên Hà
The rat poison that the students drank. Photo:NGUYEN HA

Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center, said that the rat poison fluoroacetate/fluoroacetamide originated from China, usually in the form of small plastic or glass tubes containing a pink solution. This solution is colorless, brown, or pink rice grain packets, without labels or completely in Chinese.

This is a highly toxic rat poison that affects the nervous system, causing convulsions, coma, severe brain damage, heart damage, acute myocarditis, acute heart failure, arrhythmia, cardiogenic shock, with the typical symptom of hypocalcemia. Severe poisoning can cause damage and multiple organ failure. This chemical has been banned in Vietnam for many years and has been sold on the street and online for several years now.

VN (according to VnExpress)
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Student poisoned by rat poison suffers 'heart and brain damage'