title: 'Mass allergy': acute scombroid poisoning in a deployed Australian Defence Force health facility.
abstract: On the last night of disaster relief operations in Sumatra, Indonesia, a mass casualty event occurred that involved deployed Australian Defence Force personnel. Symptoms of acute urticaria, angioedema, wheeze and gastrointestinal upset were experienced to varying degrees by 16% of the deployed element. The present report describes a presumed scombroid poisoning cluster and demonstrates the difficulties of operating in a deployed environment, the confusion that might be associated with evolving non-kinetic mass casualties, and provides a learning opportunity for an unusual mass casualty incident.
authors.affiliation: SO1 (Med), Headquarters 1st Division, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Queensland, Australia. david_ian_ward@hotmail.com
authors.forename: David Ian
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000799:Angioedema / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology; D001315:Australia; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D006268:Health Facilities; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity; D007214:Indonesia; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000506:poisoning*; D054527:Mass Casualty Incidents; D008493:Medical Missions; D058749:Military Facilities; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology; D014581:Urticaria
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; C034101:scombrotoxin