Clinical and Pathological Findings Associated with Aerosol Exposure of Macaques to Ricin Toxin.

ABSTRACT: Ricin is a potential bioweapon that could be used against civilian and military personnel. Aerosol exposure is the most likely route of contact to ricin toxin that will result in the most severe toxicity. Early recognition of ricin exposure is essential if specific antidotes are to be applied. Initial diagnosis will most likely be syndromic, i.e., fitting clinical and laboratory signs into a pattern which then will guide the choice of more specific diagnostic assays and therapeutic interventions. We have studied the pathology of ricin toxin in rhesus macaques exposed to lethal and sublethal ricin aerosols. Animals exposed to lethal ricin aerosols were followed clinically using telemetry, by clinical laboratory analyses and by post-mortem examination. Animals exposed to lethal aerosolized r

SUBMITTER: Pincus SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4488692 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature