It’s an emergency

Case studies

Expand below, to read about events where individuals have been previously exposed to malathion and parathion.

How could you be exposed to Malathion?

There are a number of ways you could be exposed to malathion:

If you work in a factory that produces malathion, or work with the chemical, for example in farming.1,2

A farm worker did not take protective measures whilst spraying malathion, and started experiencing symptoms for the following 3 days. When presenting to the clinic, he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and toxic hepatitis (inflammation of the pancreas and liver).3

Drinking food or water with malathion residue. You may be exposed through groundwater, if the chemical has travelled from the soil where it was sprayed.1

In October 2015, Tororo District, Uganda, 3 students died shortly after eating chapatti made from flour that was contaminated with malathion.4

Breathing air where malathion has just been sprayed, and using malathion in your garden or near your home.1,2

A 69-year-old male inhaled malathion whilst spraying it on his vegetable garden. The following day, he started to see symptoms of oedema (swelling), and was later diagnosed with acute kidney injury with protein in his urine. In this case the patient was treated and made a recovery.5

How could you be exposed to Parathion?

There are a number of ways you could be exposed to parathion:

During application in the field, or from inhalation/ dermal exposure in areas near where parathion has been applied.6

In 1994, Loraine County, Ohio, a large-scale investigation was conducted after discovering that an individual had been illegally applying parathion in homes over the course of 5-7 years. Whilst the scope of the issue was difficult to determine, it was found that 626 residents in the areas sprayed had traces of parathion breakdown molecules in their urine, and 49 individuals were identified as potentially poisoned.7

If you work where parathion is manufactured.6

In 1989, a report was published detailing 3 cases of parathion poisonings, caused by persistent parathion on contaminated clothing. One of the cases included a factory worker who did not deal with parathion directly within his job, and was still poisoned. All 3 cases were treated, and no deaths occurred.8

If you eat food that has been contaminated with residual parathion.6

In September 1959, barley contaminated with parathion caused an outbreak of poisonings in Singapore. The poisonings resulted in 9 child deaths, and illness in 35 children and 9 adults. 9

References

  1. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Malathion [Internet]. ATSDR; 2003 [Cited: 1st November 2024]. Available from: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp154.pdf
  2. Fenske R.A., Lu C., Negrete M., Galvin K. Breaking the take home pesticide exposure pathway for agricultural families: Workplace predictors of residential contamination. American Journal of Industrial Medicine [Internet]. 2013 Jul 12 [Cited: 10th November 2024];56(9):1063–71. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajim.22225
  3. Fındıklı H.A., Bilge Z., Aydın H., Yüceer M.M., Algın A., Aydın B. The Combination of Acute Pancreatitis and Toxic Hepatitis Developing Secondary to Exposure to malathion: a Case Report. Acta gastro-enterologica Belgica [Internet]. 2018 [Cited: 10th November 2024];81(2):333–5. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30024708/
  4. Kwesiga B., Ario A.R., Bulage L., Harris J., Zhu B.P. Fatal cases associated with eating chapatti contaminated with organophosphate in Tororo District, Eastern Uganda, 2015: case series. BMC Public Health [Internet]. 2019 Jun [Cited: 10th November 2024];19(767). Available from: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7143-0
  5. Yokota K., Fukuda M., Katafuchi R., Okamoto T. Nephrotic Syndrome and Acute Kidney Injury Induced by Malathion Toxicity [Internet]. BMJ Case Reports. 2017 [Cited: 10th November 2024]. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5695491/
  6. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry . Toxicological Profile for Parathion [Internet]. Atlanta, Georgia : ATSDR; 2017 Jan [Cited: 1st November 2024]. Available from: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp205.pdf
  7. Rubin C., Esteban E., Kieszak S., Hill R.H., Dunlop B., Yacovac R., et al. Assessment of Human Exposure and Human Health Effects after Indoor Application of Methyl Parathion in Lorain County, Ohio, 1995-1996. Environmental Health Perspectives [Internet]. 2002 Dec. 110(6):1047–51. [Cited: 10th November 2024] Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12634138/
  8. Clifford N.J. Organophosphate Poisoning From Wearing a Laundered Uniform Previously Contaminated With Parathion. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association [Internet]. 1989 Dec 1. 262(21):3035–6. [Cited: 10th November 2024] Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/379687
  9. Kanagaratnam K., Boon W., Hoh T. PARATHION POISONING FROM CONTAMINATED BARLEY. The Lancet [Internet]. 1960 Mar. 275(7123):538–42. [Cited: 10th November 2024] Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673660904669?via%3Dihub