FREQUENCY OF INTOXICATION WITH KARWINSKIA -HUMBOLDTIANA IN MEXICO

Intoxication produced by Karwinskia humboldtiana presents a neurologic al picture similar to that of poliomielitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome o r other polyradiculoneuritis with which it is frequently confused. The purpose of this paper is to report the frequency of this intoxication , by means of the antecedent of ingestion of the fruit and the detecti on of toxins in blood using a thin layer chromatography method. One hu ndred fifty four samples of cases with acute flaccid paralysis from 18 states of the country were received. The antecedent of ingestion in 5 6 of them was corroborated and the detection was positive in 50 of the se. In 98 patients there was not antecedent of ingestion and detection was negative in 95 of them. We estimated that the sensibility and spe cificity of detection method are 89% and 96.9% respectively.