Rwiza H T
Department of Internal Medicine, Muhimbili Medical Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Trop Geogr Med. 1991 Jan-Apr;43(1-2):85-90.
Ten agitated and psychotic patients were admitted to Usangi hospital after having eaten stiff-porridge (Ugali) made from millet (Serena). This had been bought from the local regional branch of the National Milling Corporation (NMC). The patients had cardinal signs of atropine poisoning, viz., psychosis with hallucinations, tachycardia, fixed dilated pupils and a dry mouth. Toxicological analysis of the food samples revealed contamination with Jimson weed (Datura stramonium) seeds which contained an atropine-like alkaloid. On studying the records of the chief government chemist, it was found that a similar type of food poisoning had occurred in at least eight other regions. The clinical picture and management of this entirely preventable type of agricultural food poisoning are discussed.
十名烦躁不安且患有精神病的患者在食用了由小米（Serena）制成的硬粥（乌加利）后被送往乌桑吉医院。这些硬粥是从国家碾磨公司（NMC）当地地区分支机构购买的。患者出现了阿托品中毒的主要症状，即伴有幻觉的精神病、心动过速、瞳孔固定散大以及口干。对食物样本的毒理学分析显示，样本被曼陀罗（Datura stramonium）种子污染，这些种子含有一种类似阿托品的生物碱。在研究首席政府化学家的记录时发现，至少其他八个地区也发生过类似类型的食物中毒。本文讨论了这种完全可预防的农业食物中毒的临床表现及处理方法。
