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COPPER POISONING |
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Tabitha111
Adviser Group Joined: January 11 2020 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 11640 |
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Posted: July 15 2020 at 9:36am |
Super interesting, wanted to share! ~~Tabitha ********************************************** Date: Thu 9 Jul 2020 Source: The Mainichi [edited] https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200709/p2a/00m/0na/010000c A total of 13 elderly people in southwestern Japan suffered symptoms of food poisoning, apparently after traces of copper from an old kettle contaminated a sports drink they consumed, the Oita Prefectural Government said on 8 Jul 2020. According to the prefecture's food and environmental health division, the incident occurred at a care facility in the city of Usuki, Oita Prefecture on the morning of 6 Jul 2020. The facility boiled water with the kettle, then cooled it and added powder to make a sports drink. The 13 men and women, aged from their 70s to 90s, each drank about half a cup of the sports drink at around 10:20 a.m. on 6 Jul 2020, and then complained of ill health, such as vomiting and nausea. Copper, having built up on the inside of the stainless-steel kettle, is believed to have dissolved in the sports drink, which was acidic. Officials say such a case is extremely rare. Upon investigation, the division detected 200 milligrams of copper per liter in the sports drink. People usually show symptoms of poisoning if they consume 10 milligrams of copper. The victims at the facility are thought to have taken in 30 milligrams of copper each. According to the division, the care facility has used the kettle for about 10 years and part of the inside had turned black. [Japanese original byline: Fumito Tsushima] [This appears to be an acute condition. Typically, acute poisoning with copper produces clinical signs of gastrointestinal distress such as vomiting and vomiting blood (hematemesis), as well as low blood pressure (hypotension). If the person is not in extreme stress, it may progress to melena (black tarry-like feces) or even jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes) and coma. In the case above, it sounds like vomiting or vomiting with blood may have occurred rapidly, resulting in them being hospitalized. Copper toxicity may be acquired (taking too much of a supplement) or inherited (such as Wilson disease) Acquired copper toxicity can result from ingesting or absorbing excess copper (e.g., from ingesting an acidic food or beverage having had prolonged contact with a copper container). Self-limited gastroenteritis with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may occur. However, 30 milligrams taken at once is quite a lot is capable of causing almost immediate gastric upset and other signs of toxicity, which may require more assistance, such as hospitalization. More severe toxicity results from ingestion (usually with suicidal intent) of gram quantities of a copper salt (e.g., copper sulfate) or from absorption of large amounts through the skin (e.g., if compresses saturated with a solution of a copper salt are applied to large areas of burned skin). Hemolytic anemia and anuria can result and may be fatal. While these individuals likely were not trying to commit suicide, without medical treatment they may have died. Portions of this comment were extracted from |
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