Questions remain in an ongoing investigation into a mysterious rat poisoning incident which left five people in the same area hospitalised with symptoms, with a child understood to be part of this group
Police are investigating five concerning rat poisoning incidents, with a child amongst those who’ve fallen ill, within the exact same town. It’s understood that these cases have been contained to three families living within the same area, and that there are no links to food outlets.
Last week, five people were taken to three separate hospitals, sparking fears that they’d eaten contaminated takeaway food. Now medics suspect they’d ingested brodifacoum. This is an active ingredient often found in rat poison, which works by interfering with vitamin K, which is needed for clotting, resulting in the thinning of the blood.
Symptoms of brodifacoum poisoning may take several days to become apparent, but can be serious. Patients may suffer from bleeding gums, excessive bleeding from minor cuts, lethargy, laboured breathing and easy bruising, and may detect blood in their urine and faeces, as per National Pest Control Agencies.
In some very severe instances, ingestion of brodifacoum can be fatal, with a lethal dose estimated to be approximately 15mg of pure brodifacoum per kg of a person’s body weight. For children, cases may be more serious.
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As reported by news.com.au, this cluster of cases unfolded in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, with the patients receiving treatment at Logan and Princess Alexandra hospitals
Clarifying that a child was among the patients who’d been treated, Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls informed reporters: “There is no indication at this stage of any point source coming from either a takeaway store, fast food outlet or cafe. Police are carrying out some investigations … but that doesn’t mean that Queensland Health is not continuing its work in respect to that matter, to identify the point source and the exact toxicology involved. That’s quite a complex and detailed process.”
Meanwhile, Chief Health Officer Catherine McDougall confirmed that these incidents weren’t being treated as suspicious and that interviews were underway to establish connections between the cases. Ms McDougall explained: “But it’s important that we’re actually considering all options, and police are experts in this space as well, so the police will look at their component and we’ll continue the public health investigation.
“We have been engaged with police through routine channels, there’s a process by which, if there’s something deemed to be unusual that might relate to a product, that there’s a pathway for us to connect with police, it’s part of the normal process.”
Thankfully, no additional patients have presented with symptoms at the time of writing; however, doctors have been urged to keep an eye out for any patients who are experiencing signs of bleeding for unknown reasons. According to Ms McDougall: “Two patients did spend a couple of days in hospital. The three others weren’t really sick at all, but just received the vitamin K treatment … they’re all at home now receiving treatment.”
As reported by ABC News, Queensland police are now working alongside health officials with the “view” of conducting an investigation into the matter.
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