Citation

Fasih A. J. Public Health (Oxford) 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Family Medicine, The University of Illinois, College of Medicine at Peoria. Peoria, IL, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/pubmed/fdz067

PMID

31242305

Abstract

In March 2018, Illinois saw the outbreak of an unprecedented public health crisis, which manifested as the development of a potentially lethal coagulopathy associated with the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids. This outbreak impacted a reported 174 patients, and was responsible for the deaths of five patients. While events unfolded, it was uncovered that the coagulopathy was not caused directly by the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids, but by the contamination of these products with Brodifacuom, bromadiol and difenacoum, potent Vitamin K antagonists that are the active ingredient in most rodenticides. This article chronicles the first reported instance of clinically significant Long Acting Anticoagulant Rodenticide poisoning on such a widespread and uniform scale, and examines the challenges posed to the providers and Public Health authorities tasked with the management of this outbreak. Crisis preparedness determines mitigation, response and recovery during trying times. It is prudent that healthcare agencies engage in collective measures to establish preparedness plans and build up their capacity to respond to health-related crises such as the one faced by Illinois in early 2018. By examining the solutions developed to tackle each unique challenge, the objective of this article is to lay a framework for action and response to similar public health crises.

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Language: en

Keywords

crisis; drug abuse; public health; rodenticide and poisoning; synthetic cannabinoids