Toxico-vigilance - An inevitable prerequisite to keep a watch on toxins around you.

India has got a handful of poison centers to compensate about 1.25 billion population of India. Hence, a lot of under-reporting of poisoning cases occurs due to limited resources.

Monocrotophos poisoning through contaminated millet flour.

Several episodes of mass poisoning by organophosphates (OPs) have been reported from the developing countries. The diagnosis of OP-poisoning is mainly based on the characteristic clinical features and history of exposure to a known OP compound. Estimation of serum and red blood cell (RBC) cholinesterase activities are helpful in confirming the diagnosis.

A U.S. partnership with India and Poland to track acute chemical releases to serve public health.

We describe a collaborative effort between the U.S., India, and Poland to track acute chemical releases during 2005-2007.

Mass ethion poisoning with high mortality.

Introduction: Fifteen people who consumed a meal during a social ceremony at a remote farm developed symptoms and signs of organophosphate poisoning.

Methods: Information was gathered from villagers and doctors at the primary health center and district hospital. Serial measurements of plasma and red blood cell cholinesterase activity levels were carried out and the organophosphate compound was identified in blood samples.

Repeated episodes of endosulfan poisoning.

Introduction: A number of families in a rural area of Jabalpur District (Madhya Pradesh), India, were affected by repeated episodes of convulsive illness over a period of three weeks. The aim of this investigation was to determine the cause of the illness.

Methods: The investigation included a house-to-house survey, interviews of affected families, discussions with treating physicians, and examination of hospital records.

Effect of endosulfan on male reproductive development.

There is experimental evidence of adverse effects of endosulfan on the male reproductive system, but there are no human data. Therefore, we undertook a study to examine the relationship between environmental endosulfan exposure and reproductive development in male children and adolescents. The study population was composed of 117 male schoolchildren (10-19 years of age) of a village situated at the foothills of cashew plantations, where endosulfan had been aerially sprayed for more than 20 years, and 90 comparable controls with no such exposure history.