An Epidemiological Study of Fatal Aluminium Phosphide Poisoning At Rajkot

Abstract

Major occupation in Saurashtra region of Gujarat is farming with majority of population living in rural areas where the cases of accidental and suicidal poisoning are common and incidences are increasing day by day due to the use of pesticides for a wider variety of purposes. A detailed knowledge about the nature and magnitude of the poisoning cases in this particular area is not only important for early diagnosis and prompt treatment but also it may help to form policies to curb the access of the population to certain very toxic substances. The present study was undertaken in the department of Forensic Medicine at Rajkot (Gujarat) to know the pattern of fatal poisoning. Total 208 cases of death due to fatal poisoning were selected for this prospective study, which were brought to us for postmortem examination during the span of one year (From January 2007 to December 2007). Various aspects like relation with age, sex, kind of poison, hospitalization, caste and time between consumption and death were noted in 208 cases of poisoning. Our study revealed that most of the victims of fatal poisoning were Hindus, married males of middle socio-economic status who died due to self ingestion of some poison. Male: Female ratio was found to be 1.36:1. In the present study higher number of fatal poisonings episodes can be ascribed to pesticides but on the basis of WHO classification of poison, Aluminium Phosphide is most common fatal poison.