Familial clusters of green tobacco sickness

ABSTRACT We present three examples of familial clustering of green tobacco sickness, taken from reports received by the Kentucky Regional Poison Center from 1991 through 1994. Each cluster contains three to five members of an immediate or extended family who became ill after working together in tobacco. Patients' ages ranged from 11 to 46 years; two thirds were males. The most frequent symptom was vomiting; other symptoms included nausea, weakness, dizziness, pallor, headache, and diaphoresis. Two persons were treated in the emergency department; the remainder were managed at home. We discuss three characteristics of tobacco farming in Kentucky which might contribute to familial clustering of GTS.

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