Natural Sciences

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Acute Metam Sodium Poisoning Caused by Occupational Exposure at a Flower Farm — Uganda, October 2016
(Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2018) Nakubulwa, Susan; Kusiima, Joy; Kadobera, Daniel; Mutyoba, Joan N.; Ario, Alex R.; Zhu, Bao-Ping
On October 25, 2016, media reports alerted the Uganda Ministry of Health to an outbreak of >80 cases of vomiting, syncope, and acute diarrhea among workers at a flower farm in central Uganda; 27 workers were hospitalized. On November 1, an investigation was undertaken by the Uganda Public Health Fellowship Program.* A case-control study found that working inside greenhouse 7, which had been fumigated with the organosulfur compound metam sodium the night of October 13, was strongly associated with illness. Employees who worked in this greenhouse during October 14–21 reported a strong “suffocating” smell in the greenhouse. Investigation revealed that, in violation of safety protocols, workers did not properly cover the soil after fumigation, allowing vapors to become trapped inside the greenhouse