EPIDEMIOLOGIC-STUDY OF AN OUTBREAK OF CLENBUTEROL POISONING IN CATALONIA, SPAIN

In an investigation of 113 cases of clenbuterol poisoning in Catalonia , Spain, in 1992, more than 50 percent of those affected were found to have had symptoms of nervousness, tachycardia, muscle tremors, myalgi a, and headache. There was no significant difference in the distributi on of symptoms according to sex (P = 0.97). The period of incubation v aried between 15 minutes and 6 hours and the duration of symptoms betw een 90 minutes and 6 days. Clenbuterol was detected in 47 urine sample s in amounts ranging from 11 to 486 parts per billion. No traces of cl enbuterol were found in serum samples. Intoxication occurred in associ ation with the ingestion of veal liver, irrespective of the way in whi ch the liver had been cooked. The association between consuming liver and falling ill was statistically significant (P < 0.0001). In one fam ily, the suspected source of intoxication was meat (veal tongue) and i n another canneloni. None of the patients died as a result of the into xication. The findings reinforce the need to uphold the prohibition of the use of clenbuterol in cattle farming in those countries and commu nities where it already exists and to contemplate a stricter regulatio n of its therapeutic use.