Acute illness epidemic, West Bank--Jerusalem

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Centers for Disease Control received a request through the US Department of State to provide physicians to investigate a health problem on the West Bank. The following are the findings. From March 21 to April 3, 943 cases of an acute, non-fatal illness characterized by headache, dizziness, photophobia, blurred vision, abdominal pain, myalgia, weakness, difficulty breathing, fainting, mydriasis, and peripheral cyanosis occurred throughout the West Bank. Six hundred and sixty (70%) of the patients were school girls between the ages of 12 and 17 years. Clinical, epidemiologic, and toxicologie analyses indicated the illness was of psychogenic origin, induced by stress. The outbreak, which began at a girls' secondary school, may have been triggered by the odor of low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas near the school. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Gases Neurological-reactions Psychological-effects Psychological-stress Psychophysiology
• ISSN:
  0098-7484
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  249
• Issue:
  19
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040965
• Citation:
  JAMA 1983 May; 249(19):2617/2620
• CAS Registry Number:
  Hydrogen sulfide (CAS RN 7783-06-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the American Medical Association
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cadb2e15529901dd350b15bc73bb5991775afd2a3e3d5802515456b4031f8fa1e6d455d569ba5a0bb17d919e5739b6c5ccd4cb22115341c2ab3e697ccc77e56f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193652/cdc_193652_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 287.23 KB ]