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Acute ackee fruit intoxication


Other Names:
Ackee poisoning; Jamaican vomiting sickness
Categories:
The following summary is from Orphanet, a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs.
orphanet

Orpha Number: 73423

Definition
A rare disease caused by the ingestion of unripe Blighia sapida fruits. It is a serious intoxication that is frequent in certain countries in the Caribbean and Western Africa. In contrast, it is rare in France and other Western countries. Intoxication leads to toxic hypoglycaemia and inhibition of neoglucogenesis. The hypoglycaemia is caused by the effect of hypoglycin A, which is found in the arils.

Clinical description
The clinical manifestations are severe (coma, convulsions, delirium, toxic hepatitis, acute dehydration and a state of shock) and may lead to death.

Management and treatment
Treatment is symptomatic (administration of glucose, IV or per os).

Prognosis
Although the intoxication is generally benign or has a favourable outcome, ingestion of large doses may lead to death: ackee fruit intoxication lead to 29 deaths in 1998 and more than 50 in 2001.

Visit the Orphanet disease page for more resources.
Last updated: 3/1/2006

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

In-Depth Information

  • Medscape Reference provides information on this topic. You may need to register to view the medical textbook, but registration is free.
  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Acute ackee fruit intoxication. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.

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