Abstract
Rhesus monkeys were given isopropyl methyl phosphonofluoridate (sarin) by intramuscular injection (0.03 mg/kg) or by exposure of the body, not including the head, to an average vapor concentration of 115 mg/cubic meter for 30 minutes, while in a room at either 25°C or 38°C. Within 4 hours of exposure at these temperatures after the beginning of sarin admninistration, 4 out of 5 monkeys died at 38°C with each method of sarin administration; at 25° C 1 out of 5 died after injection and none out of 5 after body exposure to vapor. Of the animals for which adequate data were obtained, the erythrocyte chlolinesterase activity was inhibited within 10 minutes to 30% or less of the initial activity in 7 animals that died and 2 that survived; in the other 8 survivors, the activity remained above 30% at 10 minutes. The increased lethality at 38°C may be due less to greater penetration of the skin than to a more rapid entry of sarin into the blood stream. The rectal temperature fell at 25°C and rose at 38 °C during sarin intoxication, suggesting that a late impairment of peripheral circulation also contributed to the increased lethality at 38°C.
Footnotes
- Received February 26, 1959.
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