Demographic study of 100 cases of deaths due to organophosphorous compound poisoning

Organophosphorus compounds are extensively used as pesticides for soft bodied insects in agriculture. They have been imported in India since 1951, but very few knew the nature of these compounds as a virulent poison till the food poisoning tragedy in 1958 which claimed above 100 lives. This was due to inadvertent stocking of food packages in the same hold as folidol containers. In countries such as India and Nicaragua, organophosphates are easily accessible and, therefore, a source of both intentional and unintentional poisonings. The incidence of international organophosphate-related human exposures appears to be underestimated.(1) Over time organophosphorus compounds have become the no.1 poison of choice for the purpose of suicide in India and remain so till date. Hence this study was conducted to shed some light on the scenario of deaths due to organophosphorus compound poisoning.