The Mystery of the Fatal Umbrella Prick: A Cautionary Tale of Ricin Poisoning

Health Stories are fascinating, and while they can be interesting, learning is paramount. Today, I will be discussing a health story that has to do with a bump on the ankle of a person which then metamorphosed to a serious condition. How can a bump lead to the death of a person.

This is the case of a BBC reporter who was going home from work on a sunny afternoon and then felt a prick from an umbrella pointy head that fell from another person. Who would believe that a pointy head of an umbrella can be dangerous, so he neglected and continued with his daily activity. At the office, the bump began to grow but then he began to feel unwell and in a few hours he was rushed to the hospital.

At sight, doctors believed that he had blood poisoning but then how could he be poisoned. This is a story of Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian journalist who worked with the BBC, and he had been writing certain things about the Bulgarian government which made him a target for assassination, so he thought people where trying to assassinate him.

He explained to his co-worker that he suspected the umbrella prick while on the hospital bed since that was when he began to feel very sick. About 24 hours later, he went into shock and the doctors tried to treat him but then he died of a heart attack. The Scotland government decided too do an autopsy and perform an investigation to his sudden, unexplained death. In cases like this, it could be as a result of Septicemia which is a blood poisoning caused by bacteria toxins but after autopsy, it was seen that a pinhead pellet was found in his thigh, at the exact spot where he the umbrella pricked him. What could this pellet be and what could have been the content of the pellet? The content of the pellet was Ricin and it had led to the illness of the journalist.

Ricin, derived from castor beans found in the Mediterranean and East Africa, is lethal in even minuscule amounts. While castor beans are the source of beneficial castor oil, used in medicine and cosmetics, Ricin itself is highly toxic. It disrupts cellular protein production, leading to cell death and, consequently, severe damage to the body and organ failure.

While the oil isn't poisonous, Ricin is. The presence of the poison in the cell prevents the cell from producing certain proteins which would then lead to the death of the cells and this causes damages to the body, and leads to organ death depending on how it is introduced to the body.

if Ricin is introduced into the body via inhalation, it can lead to difficulty in breathing, fever, cough, feeling of tightness, chest pain, fluid buildup in the lungs, low blood pressure, respiratory failure and ultimately death. Consuming Ricin would lead to symptoms such as Dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, seizures, and could lead to organ failure such as kidney failure, liver failure and the failure of the spleen after which it can lead to death.

The onset of symptoms can range from 4 to 24 hours post-exposure, and alarmingly, there is no known cure for Ricin poisoning. Treatment focuses on removing the toxin from the body and providing supportive care until recovery, if possible.

Ricin isn't treatable, so it is advisable to stay off it completely. If you are in a place where ricin is sprayed into the air, it is important to leave that area, take off your cloth, and ensure you do not get it into your system. If you ingest ricin, it is important that you get to the hospital very fast so they can flush it out for you. You should not drink water or try to vomit it on your own, your best shot is the hospital.

^{Read More}

^{https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au
https://www.rferl.org/a/1081550.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/09/12/221805148/bulgaria-closes-cold-war-umbrella-murder-case
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/castor-bean-ricinus-communis/
https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/ricin/facts.asp
https://www.um.edu.mt/umms/mmj/PDF/73.pdf}

^{Image Reference}

^{Image 1 ||Get Archive || Navy emergency medical technicians wheel
Image 2 || Flickr || Checkpoint Charlie
Image 3 || Need Pix || Castor Oil Seeds}