The Epidemiology of Poisoning in Kenya — A Review

Abstract

The use of poisons by humans predates the recorded history but the situation changed dramatically during and soon after second world war when very toxic chemicals were synthesized. Concern regarding the deleterious effect of synthetic chemicals was raised in 1950s prompting the establishment of poison control centers in many industrialized countries. In this paper, the author examines the epidemiology of poisoning in Kenya and shows that even though there is paucity of statistical data on cases of poisoning it is possible to discern a pattern of poisoning by extracting information from various sources.