Poisonings from Rodent Baits
Thousands of children are poisoned every year from accidentally eating rodent baits. A report compiled annually from incidents reported to poison control centers shows just how big this problem is.
| Thousands
of children are poisoned every year from accidentally eating rodent baits.
A report compiled annually from incidents reported to poison control centers
shows just how big this problem is.
How was the report compiled? The American Association of Poison Control Centers compiles an annual report as part of its Toxic Exposure Surveillance System. Over 60 poison control centers (most of them regional) from around the country provide data about toxic exposures during the past year. The most recent report compiles data for 2002. What did the report find? The report found that over 20,000 poisoning incidents caused by rodent baits (rodenticide) were reported to poison control centers in 2002. In over 17,000 of these incidents, the person who was poisoned was a child under the age of six. Over 19,000 of the incidents were accidental ingestions and over 5,000 of the patients required treatment in a health care facility.
SOURCE: Watson, W.A. et al. 2003. 2002 Annual Report of the
American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System. American Journal of Emergency Medicine 21(5):353-421
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