■ Chart / Wang Jue The incident occurred in Jiangyong, Yongzhou, possibly caused by aconitine. Doctors remind: Do not recklessly add medicine when making your own wine. Reporter Chen Ang, correspondent Huang Hai.
Report on February 9th: "I never expected that inviting classmates for dinner and drinking some medicinal wine could cause such a serious accident!" Said Zhou, a 22-year-old university student from Jiangyong County, Yongzhou City, while blaming himself and shedding tears. Six days ago, four male students including Zhou drank some medicinal wine made by Zhou's father, and they all ended up being hospitalized due to poisoning. Unfortunately, Wang (24 years old) died after unsuccessful rescue efforts, leaving them forever...
【Tragedy】
Classmate Gathering Turns Into Life-and-Death Farewell
On the afternoon of February 3rd, Wu, Tan, Wang and his girlfriend Chang bought tickets back to school and then met at their high school classmate Zhou's home in Xiacengpu Town, Jiangyong County for dinner. During the meal, each of the four boys drank more than one liang (Chinese measurement unit) of medicinal wine brewed by Zhou’s father. Subsequently, they all experienced symptoms such as full-body heat, red faces, numbness of the jaw, dizziness, and chest tightness. After about ten minutes, their symptoms worsened, leading to numbness in their hands and feet, tight facial skin, symptoms similar to sinusitis, accompanied by vomiting and convulsions. At this moment, Zhou’s father returned home and quickly rented a minivan to send the four boys to the Jiangyong County People's Hospital for emergency treatment.
After the incident, the local party committee and government of Jiangyong immediately mobilized relevant departments' staff to carry out emergency rescue work. County magistrate Chen Jingmao instructed the hospital to spare no effort in saving the patients. By this time, Wang had lost consciousness, suffered from urinary and fecal incontinence, and showed no heartbeats. Despite over half an hour of all-out rescue efforts by medical staff, Wang's life could not be saved. Fortunately, the other three boys escaped danger around 3 o'clock in the morning the next day.
【Investigation】
Poisoning Caused by Misconsumption of Plant-Based Wine
According to the investigation by the Jiangyong police, Zhou's father suffers from rheumatism. Last year, Zhou's father bought herbs like Sichuan aconite, Indian aconite, Eucommia bark, Angelica sinensis, and raw licorice, combined with a local herb for stretching tendons and bones, to brew 10 kilograms of medicinal wine. On the night of the incident, among the five university students and Zhou's mother, only the four boys who drank the medicinal wine showed signs of poisoning.
The Jiangyong police preliminarily determined that this was a case of accidental poisoning caused by consuming plant-based wine. Currently, the investigation team has sent all food samples from that day to authoritative institutions for further testing.
■Reporter Chen Ang, Correspondent Huang Hai
Analysis:
Aconitine is Highly Toxic
Doctors from the Jiangyong County People's Hospital said that aconitine exists in plants like Sichuan aconite, Indian aconite, and Aconitum carmichaelii. Ingesting just 0.2 mg of pure aconitine can lead to poisoning, while 3-5 mg can be fatal. Doctors pointed out: If using plants like Indian aconite or Sichuan aconite to brew medicinal wine, it would be best to consult professionals first.
Reminder:
Do Not Recklessly Add Medicine When Making Your Own Wine
What should you pay attention to when brewing medicinal wine? On February 9th, Professor Wang Wenbo, the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, reminded: Consumers need to understand some knowledge about Chinese herbal medicines, learn how to distinguish the authenticity of commonly used Chinese herbs, and must not cause tragedies due to random mixing and excessive consumption of medicinal wine.
Wang Wenbo introduced that when using folk prescriptions, one needs to clarify the names, specifications, uses, indications, and contraindications of the Chinese herbs involved, to prevent errors due to homonyms or synonyms; also be wary of low-quality and counterfeit Chinese herbs; fresh herbs and raw herbs often require preliminary processing. Meanwhile, drinking medicinal wine must be tailored to individual needs.
■Reporter Zhang Chunxiang