York Region Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barry Peakes spoke Tuesday morning about the mass poisoning, which took place at the Delight Restaurant & BBQ at Castlemore Avenue and Markham Street.
While Pakes could not speak to the condition of the patients, he confirmed that four remain “seriously ill” in intensive care units.
“We suspect it was … harmless,” Pikes said, adding that tests are currently underway to confirm the cause of the adverse reactions.


WHAT IS ACONITE? 
Aconite is a substance found in Aconitum plants, also known as Monkshood or Wolfsbane, and can be found widely throughout the northern hemisphere, Dr. Prateek Lala, associate director of applied clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto, told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday.
All parts of the plant are toxic, he explained, but the compound aconitine is particularly deadly.
“The lethal dose for humans can be as little as two milligrams, or the size of a sesame seed,” Lala said.


WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF ACONITE POISONING? 
Symptoms can vary depending on how much is ingested and the size of the person who ingested it, Lala said.
“The symptoms people feel after eating usually start within 30 to 60 minutes, so much shorter than you would see with typical food poisoning,” he said.
On Monday, Dr.  David Juurlink, chief of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, took to social media to warn the public about the potential poisoning incident and what symptoms to look out for.
“Results appear quickly and are mainly [gastrointestinal] neurological and cardiac,” he wrote.
Juurlink warned the public to watch for nausea, vomiting, cramps, numbness in the face and mouth area that could progress to the extremities, and muscle weakness.
Symptoms in the later stages of aconite poisoning may include low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, and coma.  If enough is swallowed, it can be fatal.
“It doesn’t take much to have a significant effect,” Lala said.


HOW DO YOU TREAT ACONITE POISONING? 
There is no cure for aconite poisoning, both doctors said.
“Most treatments and therapies for this are supportive,” Lala explained.  “There are drugs that can be used to support heart rates and blood pressure and things like that, but for the most part, it’s a watch-and-wait game to see how things go.”
Some patients need ventilation to support their breathing while they recover.
Although there is no standard timeline, those who recover from the poisoning will do so in a few days, Lala said.


HOW CAN ACONITE END UP IN FOOD? 
While raw aconite can be fatal and the risk remains high if ingested, Aconitum plants have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years.
When used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the toxins in acotin plants can be broken down into less or non-toxic derivatives using Chinese processing methods known as Pao Zhi.
Aconite can also sometimes be confused with ginger powder, as the roots of both plants are visually similar.
In March, a health authority in British Columbia issued a warning after a batch of ginger sand powder purchased at a Burnaby mall was found to contain possibly aconite.
Lala stressed that, at this time, there is no information available on whether the Markham incident was accidental or intentional.
Anyone who ate at Delight Restaurant and BBQ on August 27 or 28 and experiences any of the symptoms listed above is encouraged to seek immediate medical attention.

title: “Aconite Poisoning Doctors Explain Symptoms Treatment Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-22” author: “Jose Aguirre”

York Region Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barry Peakes spoke Tuesday morning about the mass poisoning, which took place at the Delight Restaurant & BBQ at Castlemore Avenue and Markham Street.
While Pakes could not speak to the condition of the patients, he confirmed that four remain “seriously ill” in intensive care units.
“We suspect it was … harmless,” Pikes said, adding that tests are currently underway to confirm the cause of the adverse reactions.


WHAT IS ACONITE? 
Aconite is a substance found in Aconitum plants, also known as Monkshood or Wolfsbane, and can be found widely throughout the northern hemisphere, Dr. Prateek Lala, associate director of applied clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto, told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday.
All parts of the plant are toxic, he explained, but the compound aconitine is particularly deadly.
“The lethal dose for humans can be as little as two milligrams, or the size of a sesame seed,” Lala said.


WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF ACONITE POISONING? 
Symptoms can vary depending on how much is ingested and the size of the person who ingested it, Lala said.
“The symptoms people feel after eating usually start within 30 to 60 minutes, so much shorter than you would see with typical food poisoning,” he said.
On Monday, Dr.  David Juurlink, chief of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, took to social media to warn the public about the potential poisoning incident and what symptoms to look out for.
“Results appear quickly and are mainly [gastrointestinal] neurological and cardiac,” he wrote.
Juurlink warned the public to watch for nausea, vomiting, cramps, numbness in the face and mouth area that could progress to the extremities, and muscle weakness.
Symptoms in the later stages of aconite poisoning may include low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, and coma.  If enough is swallowed, it can be fatal.
“It doesn’t take much to have a significant effect,” Lala said.


HOW DO YOU TREAT ACONITE POISONING? 
There is no cure for aconite poisoning, both doctors said.
“Most treatments and therapies for this are supportive,” Lala explained.  “There are drugs that can be used to support heart rates and blood pressure and things like that, but for the most part, it’s a watch-and-wait game to see how things go.”
Some patients need ventilation to support their breathing while they recover.
Although there is no standard timeline, those who recover from the poisoning will do so in a few days, Lala said.


HOW CAN ACONITE END UP IN FOOD? 
While raw aconite can be fatal and the risk remains high if ingested, Aconitum plants have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years.
When used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the toxins in acotin plants can be broken down into less or non-toxic derivatives using Chinese processing methods known as Pao Zhi.
Aconite can also sometimes be confused with ginger powder, as the roots of both plants are visually similar.
In March, a health authority in British Columbia issued a warning after a batch of ginger sand powder purchased at a Burnaby mall was found to contain possibly aconite.
Lala stressed that, at this time, there is no information available on whether the Markham incident was accidental or intentional.
Anyone who ate at Delight Restaurant and BBQ on August 27 or 28 and experiences any of the symptoms listed above is encouraged to seek immediate medical attention.