Trend of pesticide poisoning in recent decades in China

The past decade experienced a stunning change in the incidence and fatality rates of pesticide poisonings in China. A study on representative case records of pesticide poisoning in a chinese province is presented here. A three-fold increase in poisoning cases due to a lack of preventive measures was reported at the beginning of the 1980s, under the rural economic reformation. Occupational intoxication incidence was swiftly reduced within a couple of years, and further stepped down as the adequate means were taken. On the contrary, the increase in non-occupational cases declined very slowly. The fatality rate of occupational poisoning cases was kept low (around few per thousand), while the non-occupational remarkably declined from 30% to 11% thanks to the efforts of health and medical care centres. The number and fatality rate of non-occupational cases thus came to play a more and more important role. Such trend is worth our attention.