A Fatal Waterborne Outbreak of Pesticide Poisoning Caused by Damaged Pipelines, Sindhikela, Bolangir, Orissa, India, 2008

Introduction. We investigated a cluster of pesticide poisoning in Orissa. Methods. We searched the village for cases of vomiting and sweating on 2 February 2008. We described the outbreak by time, place, and person. We compared cases with controls. Results. We identified 65 cases (two deaths; attac...

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Main Authors: Manjubala Panda, Yvan J. Hutin, Vidya Ramachandran, Manoj Murhekar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2009-01-01
Series:Journal of Toxicology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/692496
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author Manjubala Panda
Yvan J. Hutin
Vidya Ramachandran
Manoj Murhekar
author_facet Manjubala Panda
Yvan J. Hutin
Vidya Ramachandran
Manoj Murhekar
author_sort Manjubala Panda
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. We investigated a cluster of pesticide poisoning in Orissa. Methods. We searched the village for cases of vomiting and sweating on 2 February 2008. We described the outbreak by time, place, and person. We compared cases with controls. Results. We identified 65 cases (two deaths; attack rate: 12 per 1000; case fatality: 3%). The epidemic curve suggested a point source outbreak, and cases clustered close to a roadside eatery. Consumption of water from a specific source (odds ratio [OR]: 35, confidence interval [CI]: 13–93) and eating in the eatery (OR: 2.3, CI: 1.1–4.7) was associated with illness. On 31 January 2008, villagers had used pesticides to kill street dogs and had discarded leftovers in the drains. Damaged pipelines located beneath and supplying water may have aspirated the pesticide during the nocturnal negative pressure phase and rinsed it off the next morning in the water supply. Conclusions. Innapropriate use of pesticides contaminated the water supply and caused this outbreak. Education programs and regulations need to be combined to ensure a safer use of pesticides in India.
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spelling doaj-art-bd7c8cfb2fc04f989605fecd65cbe16d2025-08-20T02:19:12ZengWileyJournal of Toxicology1687-81911687-82052009-01-01200910.1155/2009/692496692496A Fatal Waterborne Outbreak of Pesticide Poisoning Caused by Damaged Pipelines, Sindhikela, Bolangir, Orissa, India, 2008Manjubala Panda0Yvan J. Hutin1Vidya Ramachandran2Manoj Murhekar3Field Epidemiology Training Programme, National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Indian Council of Medical Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600077, IndiaField Epidemiology Training Programme, National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Indian Council of Medical Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600077, IndiaField Epidemiology Training Programme, National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Indian Council of Medical Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600077, IndiaField Epidemiology Training Programme, National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Indian Council of Medical Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600077, IndiaIntroduction. We investigated a cluster of pesticide poisoning in Orissa. Methods. We searched the village for cases of vomiting and sweating on 2 February 2008. We described the outbreak by time, place, and person. We compared cases with controls. Results. We identified 65 cases (two deaths; attack rate: 12 per 1000; case fatality: 3%). The epidemic curve suggested a point source outbreak, and cases clustered close to a roadside eatery. Consumption of water from a specific source (odds ratio [OR]: 35, confidence interval [CI]: 13–93) and eating in the eatery (OR: 2.3, CI: 1.1–4.7) was associated with illness. On 31 January 2008, villagers had used pesticides to kill street dogs and had discarded leftovers in the drains. Damaged pipelines located beneath and supplying water may have aspirated the pesticide during the nocturnal negative pressure phase and rinsed it off the next morning in the water supply. Conclusions. Innapropriate use of pesticides contaminated the water supply and caused this outbreak. Education programs and regulations need to be combined to ensure a safer use of pesticides in India.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/692496
spellingShingle Manjubala Panda
Yvan J. Hutin
Vidya Ramachandran
Manoj Murhekar
A Fatal Waterborne Outbreak of Pesticide Poisoning Caused by Damaged Pipelines, Sindhikela, Bolangir, Orissa, India, 2008
Journal of Toxicology
title A Fatal Waterborne Outbreak of Pesticide Poisoning Caused by Damaged Pipelines, Sindhikela, Bolangir, Orissa, India, 2008
title_full A Fatal Waterborne Outbreak of Pesticide Poisoning Caused by Damaged Pipelines, Sindhikela, Bolangir, Orissa, India, 2008
title_fullStr A Fatal Waterborne Outbreak of Pesticide Poisoning Caused by Damaged Pipelines, Sindhikela, Bolangir, Orissa, India, 2008
title_full_unstemmed A Fatal Waterborne Outbreak of Pesticide Poisoning Caused by Damaged Pipelines, Sindhikela, Bolangir, Orissa, India, 2008
title_short A Fatal Waterborne Outbreak of Pesticide Poisoning Caused by Damaged Pipelines, Sindhikela, Bolangir, Orissa, India, 2008
title_sort fatal waterborne outbreak of pesticide poisoning caused by damaged pipelines sindhikela bolangir orissa india 2008
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/692496
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