Poisoning case probed

February 06, 2013

The Centre for Health Protection is investigating a case of suspected poisoning involving an 81-year-old man.
 
The man, who had chronic illnesses, had bleeding gums on January 12. He went to Prince of Wales Hospital the next day and was admitted on January 14.
 
His blood sample showed abnormal clotting, and a lab test revealed a significant level of bromadiolone, commonly used as rat poison. The clinical diagnosis was suspected superwarfarin poisoning. The patient is stable and was discharged on January 22.
 
Officers of the centre and the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department tested food from the patient's home, finding bromadiolone in a dried duck leg which was brought from a retail shop in Sha Tin in early December.
 
No similar cases have been reported so far. Warfarin and superwarfarin are anticoagulants, which thin the blood and can cause abnormal bleeding.