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Thallium poisoning: an outbreak in Florida, 1988.
J C Desenclos1, M H Wilder, G W Coppenger
1Division of Field Epidemiology, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga.
Southern Medical Journal
|December 1, 1992
Summary
The largest US thallium poisoning outbreak occurred in a Florida family due to contaminated soft drinks. Five family members were poisoned, with one fatality, linked to specific thallium-laced bottles.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Environmental Health
- Public Health
Background:
- Thallium, a toxic heavy metal, was banned as a rodenticide in 1972.
- Acute thallium poisoning is rare, especially in outbreak settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the largest outbreak of acute thallium poisoning in the United States.
- To identify the source and transmission route of thallium exposure within a family.
Main Methods:
- Environmental specimen collection and testing using atomic spectroscopy.
- Clinical assessment of affected individuals, including neurological and respiratory status.
- Epidemiological investigation to determine exposure patterns and identify the source.
Main Results:
- Five of seven family members were poisoned with thallium from contaminated soft drink bottles.
- Three patients developed severe neuropathy with respiratory depression; one died.
- Thallium was detected in soft drink bottles from the same lot number, confirming the source.
Conclusions:
- Contaminated soft drinks were the source of a large family outbreak of acute thallium poisoning.
- The investigation highlights the potential for deliberate poisoning and the importance of source identification.
- Prompt identification of the exposure source prevented wider community contamination.