Terbufos found in suspected food poisoning victims' systems: CDC

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed Friday that eight people who fell ill due to suspected food poisoning in Taitung County had terbufos, a hazardous chemical compound found in some pesticides, in their systems.

Terbufos, which can potentially kill humans, is used on various crops, including bananas, beans, citrus, coffee, groundnuts, sorghum and maize as soil cover to combat wireworms, mossy beetles, beet flies and the black bean louse.

According to the CDC, human biological samples, including blood, serum and urine, were delivered to the National Taiwan University's (NTU) Department of Forensic Medicine and the Taipei Veterans General Hospital's (TVGH) Department of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology for testing following the incident that killed three people.

The NTU department has reported back confirming the presence of terbufos in the eight sampled patients, Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), CDC deputy director-general, told reporters in a text message.

The findings were consistent with the results produced by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) on "food waste" samples, which showed traces of the hazardous chemical compound, Lo added.

However, metaldehyde, an organic compound that is often used as a pesticide against slugs and snails, was not detected in the eight patients, he said. Some have speculated metaldehyde poisoning as being the cause of the incident.

Yang Chen-chang (楊振昌), who heads the TVGH's toxicology department, told CNA Friday that four of the eight sampled patients were all found to have reduced acetylcholinesterase, reflecting organophosphorus poisoning.

As for cyanide poisoning, which some have also speculated, was not detected, Yang added.

The suspected food poisoning happened on Tuesday when an 83-year-old woman identified by her surname Tseng (曾) died after eating some of the millet dumplings she had made. That evening, several relatives and friends who came to mourn her death and ate the leftover dumplings and other items in Tseng's kitchen later exhibited symptoms such as vomiting and convulsions.

Two died, six were placed in intensive care, and three others also received treatment on the following day.

On Friday, Taitung MacKay Memorial Hospital said its three patients under intensive care are expected to be transferred to an ordinary ward later in the day as their conditions have improved. Meanwhile, Taitung Christian Hospital and the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Taitung Hospital said the conditions of the patients under their care have also improved.

According to Sun Kuo-ping (孫國平), director of the Taitung County Public Health Bureau, health inspectors and the local police found an open pack of fipronil, an insecticide, in Tseng's kitchen during their investigation of the incident.

Chen Yen-chiu (陳妍萩), Taitung's chief prosecutor, declined to comment on its link to the case, saying that autopsies are expected to be conducted on the deceased later Friday.

Regarding the source of the pesticide, Chen said no details could be provided as the investigation was still ongoing.