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Today, 10 doses of Botulinum antitoxin will be transferred from Switzerland to Hanoi to treat patients with Minh Chay pate poisoning.
The information was reported by Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Giang Huong, Director of Disease Control Programs and Director of Emergency Health Programs of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific region. / 9.
Associate Professor Huong worked for 11 years as director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Health. Since July 2019, he has worked for WHO in the Western Pacific region.
Associate Professor Huong said 10 doses of botulinum antidote were taken from WHO’s drug stocks in Geneva, Switzerland, and were flown to Hanoi today to quickly rescue the victims. All drugs are stored under special conditions.
Botulinum antidote
Bach Mai Hospital is designated by the Ministry of Health as the receiving unit for this drug and will transport it to other medical facilities according to treatment needs.
Units of the Ministry of Health should work closely with WHO to complete the procedures necessary to receive the above medications.
According to reports from health establishments, the country had about 20 cases of hospitalization due to poisoning after ingesting Minh Chay pate. Some severe cases still require mechanical ventilation.
So far, Vietnam has only received 2 doses of the WHO-sponsored Botulinum antidote, extracted from the pharmacy in Thailand. These 2 doses of this drug have been used for 2 critically ill patients at Bach Mai Hospital on August 29th.
Botulinum antidote is a very rare drug, only a few countries have a low stock of drugs available for this drug. In Thailand, there are only less than 10 jars. After that, the Ministry of Health contacted the WHO and associations and manufacturers to find sources of hard drugs to ensure treatment needs.
However, the doctors said, this antidote is only effective for the first week and is most effective in the first 48 to 96 hours.
Botulinum toxin is secreted by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum. This type of bacteria exists in the soil, in food, so it is easy to contaminate food if it is not cooked well or in the preliminary preparation or packaging process that does not ensure hygiene. In the absence of oxygen, it will multiply and develop producing toxins.
Botulinum is considered to be one of the most powerful types of poisons, just absorbing a dose of 1.3-2.1 nanograms / kg of body weight can cause death.
However, this toxin is not heat stable, it is inactivated at 80 degrees C, decomposes at 100 degrees C for 15 minutes.
Thuy Hanh
Botulinum toxin in Minh Chay pate causes poisoning after a few hours to 2 weeks
After eating food containing anaerobic bacteria, patients often become intoxicated after 1 to 1.5 days, but symptoms can appear as soon as a few hours or as long as 2 weeks.
