High rise in rat poison suicide attempts
JOBURG - The Gauteng Health Department has noted a rise in attempted suicides using rat poison, which is readily available on the streets.
These shocking statistics from 10 state-run mortuaries showed that deaths due to rat poison rose from 362 in the 2012 to 2013 year, to 516 in the 2014 to 2015 year. The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, said the Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital in Jabulani attended to 40 cases of attempted suicide in July this year alone.
Mabona said, “The poison of choice seems to be rodenticides which are superwarfarins [anti-coagulants] and commonly known as halephirimi. However, alternate forms of rodenticides are imported illegally into the country and may be ingested either accidentally or in suicide attempts.”
He said this is one a truly unpleasant poison, along with paracetamol/acetylminopren. Mabona stated that rat poisoning causes general bodily bleeding in organs with a high likelihood of death. He also said that according to acting deputy director-general Dr Richard Lebethe, in many instances people arrive at hospitals with minimal chances of survival and many die in agony or are sent to intensive care units.
Mabona also said that according to World Health Organisation, a suicide occurs every 40 seconds and an attempt is made every three seconds. He said in South Africa, the average suicide is 17.2 per 100 000 (eight percent of all deaths). This relates only to deaths reported by academic hospitals.
Mabona said, “We cannot measure the pain caused to relatives and family members when someone decides to cut short his or her life by suicide. The department wishes to advise parents and relatives about the easy access to rat poisons.”
Rat poisoning with the intention of suicide causes organophosphate which includes severe abdominal pains, vomiting, diarrhoea, severe oral secretions and lung secretions.
There are specialised health interventions that could help save those who attempt suicide by drinking rat poison, however, the saving of the person is dependent on the timing of the intervention. In most cases, patients arrive late and when they are saved, they may develop neurological side effects including psychosis.
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