South Korean humidifier disinfectant case | |
Hangul | 가습기살균제사건 |
---|---|
Hanja | 加濕器殺菌劑事件 |
Revised Romanization | Gaseupgi salgyunje sageon |
McCune–Reischauer | Kasŭpki salgyunje sagŏn |
The South Korean humidifier disinfectant case was an outbreak of lung diseases in South Korea caused by chemicals contained in several humidifier disinfectants.
The outbreak was detected in children between 2006 and 2011,and in adults in the spring of 2011;the mortality rate in children was 58 percent,while among adults,53 percent died or required lung transplants. [1] Autopsies and epidemiological work,followed up by animal studies,led the South Korean CDC to identify polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) used in humidifier disinfectants as the cause. [1] [2]
The main cause of the lung diseases was the chemicals PHMG,methylchloroisothiazolinone (CMIT),methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and oligo(2-(2-ethoxy)-ethoxyethyl)guanidinium-chloride (PGH). [3] Experiments by the South Korean government found pulmonary toxicity of PHMG and PGH when inhaled as a vapor. [4] [5] PHMG and PGH caused pulmonary fibrosis when experimented on animals.
On November 11,2011,six humidifier disinfectants which contain PHMG and PGH were recovered. PHMG and PGH was banned in 2011,and new cases ceased occurring. [1] [2] However,later on,the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not find a causal relationship that CMIT and MIT in humidifier disinfectants cause pulmonary fibrosis. This result,still,did not mean that CMIT and MIT were safe, [4] as the chemicals also affected the brain and skin to varying extents. [6] At least five victims used CMIT or MIT-based humidifier disinfectants. [7] [8]
The Korean government officially recognized 1,814 dead and 7,837 injured victims, [9] however,according to Korea national apparatus,Social Disasters Commission,including unreported cases,estimated 20,366 deaths,950,000 health damages,and 8,940,000 exposures occurred between 1994 and 2011 due to PHMG. [10] Autopsies and epidemiological work,followed up by animal studies,led the South Korean CDC to identify PHMG used in humidifiers as the cause. [1] [2] It was banned in 2011,and new cases ceased occurring. [1] [2]
Most victims used Reckitt Benckiser's humidifier disinfectant,Oxy Ssak Ssak (옥시싹싹),which led the British firm to various court indictments in the years following 2011. [11] [12] [13] In May 2016,when the Korean division chief apologized to victims and families in a press conference and offered compensation to the families of those who died to those who were injured;it was the first time the company had acknowledged that its products containing PHMG were harmful.
Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of interstitial lung disease where inhalation of dust has caused interstitial fibrosis. The three most common types are asbestosis,silicosis,and coal miner's lung. Pneumoconiosis often causes restrictive impairment,although diagnosable pneumoconiosis can occur without measurable impairment of lung function. Depending on extent and severity,it may cause death within months or years,or it may never produce symptoms. It is usually an occupational lung disease,typically from years of dust exposure during work in mining;textile milling;shipbuilding,ship repairing,and/or shipbreaking;sandblasting;industrial tasks;rock drilling;or agriculture. It is one of the most common occupational diseases in the world.
Asbestosis is long-term inflammation and scarring of the lungs due to asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath,cough,wheezing,and chest tightness. Complications may include lung cancer,mesothelioma,and pulmonary heart disease.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM),also known as environmental mycobacteria,atypical mycobacteria and mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT),are mycobacteria which do not cause tuberculosis or leprosy/Hansen's disease. NTM are able to cause pulmonary diseases that resemble tuberculosis. Mycobacteriosis is any of these illnesses,usually meant to exclude tuberculosis. They occur in many animals,including humans and are commonly found in soil and water.
Interstitial lung disease (ILD),or diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD),is a group of respiratory diseases affecting the interstitium and space around the alveoli of the lungs. It concerns alveolar epithelium,pulmonary capillary endothelium,basement membrane,and perivascular and perilymphatic tissues. It may occur when an injury to the lungs triggers an abnormal healing response. Ordinarily,the body generates just the right amount of tissue to repair damage,but in interstitial lung disease,the repair process is disrupted,and the tissue around the air sacs (alveoli) becomes scarred and thickened. This makes it more difficult for oxygen to pass into the bloodstream. The disease presents itself with the following symptoms:shortness of breath,nonproductive coughing,fatigue,and weight loss,which tend to develop slowly,over several months. The average rate of survival for someone with this disease is between three and five years. The term ILD is used to distinguish these diseases from obstructive airways diseases.
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Reckitt Benckiser is a British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough,United Kingdom,and Hoofddorp,Netherlands. It is a producer of health,hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in 1999 by the merger of British company Reckitt &Colman plc and Dutch company Benckiser N.V.
Pneumonitis describes general inflammation of lung tissue. Possible causative agents include radiation therapy of the chest,exposure to medications used during chemo-therapy,the inhalation of debris,aspiration,herbicides or fluorocarbons and some systemic diseases. If unresolved,continued inflammation can result in irreparable damage such as pulmonary fibrosis.
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Occupational lung diseases comprise a broad group of diseases,including occupational asthma,industrial bronchitis,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),bronchiolitis obliterans,inhalation injury,interstitial lung diseases,infections,lung cancer and mesothelioma. These can be caused directly or due to immunological response to an exposure to a variety of dusts,chemicals,proteins or organisms. Occupational cases of interstitial lung disease may be misdiagnosed as COPD,idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,or a myriad of other diseases;leading to a delay in identification of the causative agent.
Lysol is a brand of American cleaning and disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt,which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and soft surfaces,air treatment,and hand washing. The active ingredient in many Lysol products is benzalkonium chloride,but the active ingredient in the Lysol "Power and Free" line is hydrogen peroxide. Lysol has been used since its invention in the late 19th century as a household and industrial cleaning agent,and previously as a medical disinfectant.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) synonymous with cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis is a rare,progressive illness of the respiratory system,characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue,associated with the formation of scar tissue. It is a type of chronic pulmonary fibrosis characterized by a progressive and irreversible decline in lung function.
Workplace health surveillance or occupational health surveillance (U.S.) is the ongoing systematic collection,analysis,and dissemination of exposure and health data on groups of workers. The Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its 12th Session in 1995 defined an occupational health surveillance system as "a system which includes a functional capacity for data collection,analysis and dissemination linked to occupational health programmes".
Rheumatoid lung disease is a disease of the lung associated with RA,rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid lung disease is characterized by pleural effusion,pulmonary fibrosis,lung nodules and pulmonary hypertension. Common symptoms associated with the disease include shortness of breath,cough,chest pain and fever. It is estimated that about one quarter of people with rheumatoid arthritis develop this disease,which are more likely to develop among elderly men with a history of smoking.
Acute inhalation injury may result from frequent and widespread use of household cleaning agents and industrial gases. The airways and lungs receive continuous first-pass exposure to non-toxic and irritant or toxic gases via inhalation. Irritant gases are those that,on inhalation,dissolve in the water of the respiratory tract mucosa and provoke an inflammatory response,usually from the release of acidic or alkaline radicals. Smoke,chlorine,phosgene,sulfur dioxide,hydrogen chloride,hydrogen sulfide,nitrogen dioxide,ozone,and ammonia are common irritants.
The 1993 Four Corners hantavirus outbreak was an outbreak of hantavirus that caused the first known human cases of hantavirus disease in the United States. It occurred within the Four Corners region –the geographic intersection of the U.S. states of Utah,Colorado,New Mexico,and Arizona –of the Southwestern United States in mid-1993. This region is largely occupied by Native American tribal lands,including the Hopi,Ute,Zuni,and Navajo reservations,from which many of the cases were reported.
Acetylpropionyl,also known as acetyl propionyl or 2,3-pentanedione,is an organic compound,specifically a diketone.
Polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) is a guanidine derivative that is used as a biocidal disinfectant,often in the form of its salt polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate (PHMG-P).
Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs,and is also known as pulmonary emphysema.
Vaping-associated pulmonary injury (VAPI),also known as vaping-associated lung injury (VALI) or e-cigarette,or vaping,product use associated lung injury (E/VALI),is an umbrella term,used to describe lung diseases associated with the use of vaping products that can be severe and life-threatening. Symptoms can initially mimic common pulmonary diagnoses,such as pneumonia,but sufferers typically do not respond to antibiotic therapy. Differential diagnoses have overlapping features with VAPI,including COVID-19. According to a systematic review article,"Initial case reports of vaping-related lung injury date back to 2012,but the ongoing outbreak of EVALI began in the summer of 2019." EVALI cases continue to be diagnosed. "EVALI has by no means disappeared," Dr. Kligerman said. "We continue to see numerous cases,even during the pandemic,many of which are initially misdiagnosed as COVID-19."
Air Murder is a 2022 South Korean drama film written and directed by Jo Yong-sun. The film,based on novel Gyun by So Ji-won,which deals with the humidifier disinfectant disaster that actually happened in Korea,was released on April 22,2022.