Health survey among farmers exposed to deltamethrin in the cotton fields

A health survey was conducted among spraymen exposed to 2.5% deltamethrin EC in the cotton fields. The subjects were exposed to deltamethrin at concentrations of 0.022-24.070 micrograms/m3 in respiratory zone air and of 0.013-0.347 micrograms/cm2 of skin contact. Results showed that one-half of the 44 subjects examined complained of itching and burning sensations on their faces. A few miliary red papules also appeared on the face of one subject but not sign of acute deltamethrin poisoning was evident on physical examination. There were no significant differences between the subjects examined and the controls in sodium, potassium, and urea contents in the serum, sodium potassium ATPase and serotonin in whole blood, and 3-methyl-4-hydroxymandelic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in the urine. Deltamethrin in the urine of spraymen was below the detection limit (0.20 microgram/liter) of the method used.