title: Severe acute illness in a toddler exposed to multiple agricultural pesticides and an insect repellent.
abstract: Acute severe pesticide-related illness among farm worker children is rarely reported. The authors report a toddler with acute onset of apnea, cyanosis, somnolence, hypotonia, tachycardia, and miosis who required hospitalization. Health care providers suspected pesticide poisoning, but were unable to determine the causal agent. Investigation by a public health program documented four pesticide exposures that occurred within one-half hour of acute illness. This case illustrates the importance of a thorough environmental/occupational exposure history and obtaining biological samples. It also documents the need to strengthen the Worker Protection Standard for agricultural workers and the importance of reporting and investigating pesticide-related illness.
authors.affiliation: a Washington State Department of Health , Office of Environmental Health, Safety and Toxicology , Olympia , Washington , USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sievert
authors.forename: Barbara F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Morrissey
authors.forename: Geoffrey M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Calvert
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D012721:Carbaryl / Q000506:poisoning; D003671:DEET / Q000506:poisoning; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000506:poisoning*; D008297:Male; D010575:Pesticides / Q000506:poisoning*; D027861:Prunus
chemical_list: D007302:Insect Repellents; D010575:Pesticides; D003671:DEET; D012721:Carbaryl