Epidemiological Description of an Outbreak of Dermatitis Related to Dimethylfumarate, France, 2008

Abstract

Following similar events in other European countries, some cases of dermatitis related to contact with China-imported furniture possibly treated with dimethyl(E)-butenedioate (dimethylfumarate [DMF]) were reported to the French institute for public health surveillance at the beginning of September 2008. An active multisource case collection was conducted in order to provide an epidemiological description of this outbreak. Results of this investigation show that, in France, mainly during the 4th quarter of 2008, a large number of people presented dermatological symptoms at least plausibly due to a contact with DMF-treated consumer products. The products involved were mostly shoes and sofa (94% of cases). This work offers an example of a multipartner investigation in the field of environmental health. It also shows how the results obtained contributed to decision-making and resulted in the limitation of DMF-treated products in France and in Europe.

Calls Managed by the BC Drug and Poison Information Centre following the 2011 Nuclear Reactor Incident at Fukushima, Japan

“…Historically, poison control centres in both the United States and Europe have demonstrated their capacity to alert public health, 15 law enforcement 23 and drug and consumer product agencies 17 when public health action is required. Surveillance of poison control centre information has been used to detect and monitor the emergence of trends and real-time incidents involving drug and substance abuse, 24,25 food-borne illness, 26 mass poisoning, 27 food/medication contamination, 28,29 adverse drug reactions 19,30 and injuries from commercial and consumer products.…”

“…Poison control centres have been used to field exposure-and information-related calls following large-scale natural disasters, 15,16 consumer product concerns, 17 adverse drug effects, 18,19 food-borne outbreaks 20 and to quell public anxiety about the H1N1 virus. 21 Largely unrecognized and untapped, however, particularly in Canada, is their potential as a source of information to identify and monitor emerging public health issues.…”

Risk Assessment of Dimethylfumarate Residues in Dwellings Following Contamination by Treated Furniture

“…An initial report published in 2009 showed that, in France, mainly during the fourth quarter of 2008, a large number of people presented dermatological symptoms, at least plausible ones, due to contact with DMFu‐treated consumer products . The products involved were mostly shoes and sofas (94% of cases) …”

“…Compared to the first period of data collection, causality assessment was improved by using a two‐step method. In the first step, the causal relationship between symptoms and the suspected article was evaluated using the French method for unexpected or toxic drug reaction assessment .…”

“…In France, from October 2008 to January 2009, more than 100 cases of serious skin disorders were reported following contact with DMFu‐treated sofas or shoes. In March 2009, an initial report compiling 134 cases reported to the French toxicovigilance system was published …”