Acute Metam Sodium Poisoning Caused by Occupational Exposure at a Flower Farm — Uganda, October 2016
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Abstract
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
Description
Keywords
Acute Metam Sodium, Poisoning, Flower Farm
Citation
Nakubulwa, S., Kusiima, J., Kadobera, D., Mutyoba, J. N., Ario, A. R., & Zhu, B. P. (2018). Acute metam sodium poisoning caused by occupational exposure at a flower farm—Uganda, October 2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(14), 414.