Police in southern China are probing a mysterious case of thallium poisoning in which a woman has been in a coma for 28 days and may suffer brain paralysis.
The 37-year-old woman, Liu Meizhao, is being treated in the intensive care ward in a hospital in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, but showed no sign of recovery.
The antidote she took to clear the lethal element from her body didn't seem to work as she still suffered a thallium level many times higher than normal, China News Service reported today.
Liu complained about hair loss, joint pain and excruciating skin in June and was diagnosed with cervical syndrome. A Dongguan hospital then operated on her neck. But her condition worsened and she was transferred to another hospital which confirmed her thallium poisoning.
Preliminary investigation found the lethal element in the kelp the patient ate, but police in Dongguan said they still need further tests to determine whether it was the leading cause.
Liu's relatives, however, blamed her employer, a US-based electronic company for bringing her the ailment, which was denied by the company.
The investigation is still going on.
Thallium is colorless, odorless and deadly in doses as small as 1.13 grams. It has been used in rat poison and it continues to be used industrially to manufacture products including glass lenses, semiconductors, dyes and pigments.
(By Zhang Xuanchen)
