ABSTRACT
The available information on the epidemiology of acute pesticide poisonings is very fragmentary. The WHO working group estimated pesticide intoxications based on the population at risk and the rate of intoxication. The real morbidity and mortality rate of pesticide intoxications is difficult to calculate in view of the poor registration and the size of the exposed population. J. Jeyaratnam et al. surveyed acute pesticide poisonings among agricultural workers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Acute pesticide intoxications are a high priority in developing countries. Usually, the pesticides contribute to a quicker emergence of some disease already existing in a latent stage, or exacerbate some illness. The prevalence of some diseases in the mortality of two groups of different pesticide exposure may indicate such an effect. In Sri Lanka and Malaysia, the major class of identified chemicals causing pesticide poisoning are organophosphates, 65% and 53.6%, respectively.
