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Health experts suspect bromide poisoning in Angolan disease outbreak

Monday, November 26, 2007

Location of Angola within Africa.

Health authorities from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the government of Angola have revealed that bromide poisoning may be the source of a mystery illness first reported in early October.

The outbreak of over 400 reported cases of a neurological disorder was centred in the Cacuaco district of Angola's capital city Luanda. A majority of the afflicted have been children under the age of 15. There have been no deaths attributed directly to the disorder.

According to a statement in the state-run AngolaPress, symptoms have included "sleepiness, blear-eyedness, dizziness and difficulty to speak, walk and extreme tiredness." WHO described the drowsiness as being so severe that the patient would require "painful stimuli" to be awoken.

Sodium bromide.

Results from laboratory tests carried out in London and Munich indicated elevated levels of bromide present in the blood and kitchen salt samples examined. It is suspected that sodium chloride (table salt) may have been contaminated with sodium bromide, an agent used in pharmaceuticals and industry.

However, authorities caution that more investigation is required to determine the source and cause of the illness. Consequently, further testing of blood, food and water has been initiated.

On Wednesday, WHO dispatched additional technical and support personnel to Angola to assist local health officials.


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  This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
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