VietNamNet Bridge – Luong Hau Tan, director of the Muong Cha District Health Centre in the northern highland province of Dien Bien, says he has seen an increasing number of suicide attempts by villagers drinking weed killers.

Illustrative image -- File photo

The latest case concerns 31-year-old Giang Thanh Giong and his wife Hang Thi Cua, who were found on June 26 after drinking herbicide. They were taken to the Huoi Leng Commune Clinic for emergency treatment and transferred to Muong Cha District Health Center. The couple’s life was saved, and it transpired that their decision had been prompted by domestic conflict.

This was one of five conflict-driven suicide attempts using herbicide to have occurred in the Hmong ethnic group communes of Huoi Leng, Sa Long and Trung Dinh in Muong Cha District in June and July.

Hang A Pao of Cong Troi Village in Sa Long Commune tried to kill himself in a similar way. On July 19, after an argument with his wife, Ho Thi Cau, he swallowed about 10ml of herbicide. Fortunately, relatives helped him vomit and brought him to the health centre.

Trang A Long, head of the Huoi Leng Commune Clinic, attributes the problem to people’s lack of awareness of conflict resolution options and the easy accessibility of herbicides in rural areas.

Tan said those exposed to Paraquat herbicide could suffer irreversible organ failure and death. To prevent inadvertent poisoning and suicide attempts he recommended tightening herbicide management and rushing those affected to medical treatment.

Paraquat poisoning is not unique to Dien Bien Province. It is estimated that the poison is responsible for 1,000 deaths annually in Viet Nam. A dose of 5ml results in a fatality rate of 90 per cent, according to doctors from Ha Noi’s Bach Mai Hospital.

"Dying because of paraquat ís scary since patients are conscious until they die," said Nguyen Trung Nguyen, head of the Poison Control Centre at Bach Mai Hospital. 

Therefore, doctors advise replacing Paraquat with other herbicides for home use, and educating people who use it about its lethal effects.  

VNS