Key Figures

• Exposures and poisoning cases: From January 1 to August 31, 2011, CAPTVs recorded 118,000 exposure cases, including 44,250 with symptoms. Three out of 10 poisonings involved medications, one in five involved household products, and one in 10 involved occupational products. Children under 4 years of age were involved in approximately 23% of cases.

• Alerts: Since June 1, 2011, the toxicovigilance network has supported public authorities in responding to five health alerts across France. These health alerts involved biological agents (Physalia physalis, mushrooms, pine nuts) and chemical agents (lead, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from brown algae). Information on some of these incidents is provided in this issue in the "Signals – Alerts" section and in the article on mushroom poisoning.