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Delayed eye and other consequences from exposure to methyl isocyanate: 93% follow up of exposed and unexposed cohorts in Bhopal.
  1. N Andersson,
  2. M K Ajwani,
  3. S Mahashabde,
  4. M K Tiwari,
  5. M K Muir,
  6. V Mehra,
  7. K Ashiru,
  8. C D Mackenzie
  1. TUC Centenary Institute of Tropical Medicine, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

    Abstract

    A follow up study three years after exposure to methyl isocyanate in 93% of exposed survivors and "control" residents in 10 Bhopali communities showed an excess of eye irritation, eyelid infection, cataract, and a decrease in visual acuity among the exposed people. Breathlessness was twice as common in the heavily exposed clusters as those with lower exposure, a trend that could not be explained by different age or smoking patterns (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.36-3.08). Case referent analysis of outpatient attendances at Bhopal Eye Hospital, considering patients with severe refractive errors and astigmatism as "controls," showed a 40% increased risk of trachoma, 36% increased risk of other lid infections, and 45% increased risk of irritant symptoms among previously exposed people. "Bhopal eye syndrome" may thus include full resolution of the initial interpalpebral superficial erosion, a subsequent increased risk of eye infections, hyperresponsive phenomena (irritation, watering, and phlyctens), and possibly cataracts. It remains to be confirmed whether this reflects a more generalised disease as a consequence of previous exposure to methyl isocyanate or whether it is only the eye that is affected.

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