Citation

Rebelo FM, Caldas ED, Heliodoro Vde O, Rebelo RM. Cien. Saude Colet. 2011; 16(8): 3493-3502.

Vernacular Title

Intoxicacao por agrotoxicos no Distrito Federal, Brasil, de 2004 a 2007 - analise

Affiliation

Laboratório de Toxicologia, Universidade de Brasília.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Associacao Brasileira de Pos-Graduacao em Saude Coletiva)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21860949

Abstract

Exposure to toxic substances, including pesticides, can cause irreversible damage to humans, including death, and is therefore considered a serious public health problem worldwide. This is a retrospective study using data gathered by the Toxicological Information and Assistance Center of Brazil's Federal District (Ciat-DF) between 2004 and 2007. During this period, 709 intoxications with pesticide occurred in the DF and were analyzed in this study. Fifty-one percent of the intoxicated individuals were men; the events occurred mostly in the home (91%), in the urban area (86.3%) and by ingestion (84%). Children from 1 to 4 years of age and adults from 20 to 39 years were involved in 30% and 36% of the cases, respectively. Accidental intoxication corresponded to 47.1% of the cases, followed by attempted suicide (44.2%). The illegal rodenticide known as "chumbinho", the main ingredient of which is carbamate insecticide aldicarb, was involved in 35.1% of the cases, mostly in suicide attempts. In eighteen cases, the intoxicated individuals died after exposure to the pesticides, namely 15 suicides and 3 accidental poisonings. When compared with other data sources, this study identified a high level of underreporting to the Ciat-DF of intoxication by pesticide during the period under study.

Language: pt