UAE doctors urge tough action over lethal pesticides

Farah Ebrahim, who died of heart failure after pesticide poisoning last week, is the fourth person to die from aluminium phosphide poisoning in just over a month. Courtesy Ebrahim family

SHARJAH // Doctors who treated a young girl who died after a neighbour used a banned pesticide called yesterday for tougher criminal penalties for illegal operators.

Farah Ebrahim, 11, died in hospital last week from heart failure brought on by exposure to aluminium phosphide, which is banned from public sale and may be used only by licensed pest controllers.

Dr Khaled Khalfan Sabit Al Ali of Al Qassimi hospital in Sharjah, where Farah died, said immediate action should be taken to criminalise those using dangerous pesticides.

“One tablet can kill a person within six to 12 hours,” the doctor said. “Those who use them protect themselves and leave the others to suffer the devastating consequences.

“If you saw what they caused to this family and the family of baby Habiba, killed last year, you would break down and cry.”

Farah was the fourth victim of aluminium phosphide, also called Bomb, in just over a month. A Bangladeshi girl, 3, and her eight-month-old sister died in Ajman on June 1 and a Filipina beauty salon worker, 35, died in Fujairah on June 12.

Aluminium phosphide is still available from unauthorised sellers and pest control companies.

Health officials in Dubai issued warnings last year about hiring illegal companies and said municipal regulations prohibit importing, handling and trading of pesticides without permission.

Pesticides used in Dubai must comply with the specifications approved by the municipality, health and environmental standards and technical requirements.

In Abu Dhabi, legitimiate companies must be registered with the Centre for Waste Management and the Department of Economic Development.

Pesticide companies also must register with the municipality in Sharjah.

Criminal punishments for unauthorised use of illegal pesticides are under review by Sharjah officials.

The dead girl’s mother remains in hospital in Sharjah and her brother, 6, is being treated at a hospital in Abu Dhabi. The father and family maid were given the all-clear by medical staff.

The mother has made tremendous improvement in the past few days and doctors hope her condition will slowly shift out of danger, said Dr Saqer Al Mualla, the hospital’s deputy chief executive.

“But she will need more days on the ventilator, this was poisoning and requires patience.”

Dr Safiya Saif Al Khajeh, the medical director of the hospital, said a specialised heart-lung machine that was helping the mother keep breathing, one of only two in the country, had been instrumental in keeping her alive.

“Even the cost of maintaining and sustaining the operation of the machine goes into hundreds of thousands of dirhams,” she said. “Not every one will run that machine, it needs specialised professionals and once one is on the machine, professionals have to monitor it around the clock. This is besides the cost of accessories and medicines to be used with the machine.”

The hospital is meeting the cost, Dr Al Khajeh said.

The family's upstairs neighbour, the building's watchman and two men who sold the pesticide are in police custody.

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