Recent cases of poisoning reported in schools in Mérida and Portuguesa

This week, new cases of poisoning were reported in schools in the states of Mérida and Portuguesa, possibly related to a dangerous viral challenge circulating on social networks.

In Portuguesa, it occurred on the morning of Wednesday, November 20, eight teachers, an assistant and a security guard at the Los Coromoticos Bolivarian Early Education Center suffered poisoning from inhaling an unknown chemical substance, according to Civil Protection reports.

There were no students in the facilities that day. It happened when the teachers put together a manger and decorated doors and windows, he reported. The Pitazo.

According to testimonies, the first symptom reported by the teachers was redness of the skin, followed by difficulty breathing and, in some cases, fainting. They managed to reach the Dr. Miguel Oráa University Hospital (HUMO) on their own, where they were treated and discharged.

The Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigation Corps (Cicpc) Guanare Delegation will be in charge of investigating the case, the eighth since November 7 in Portuguesa. More than 500 people have been affected.

In Ejido, Mérida, another similar case was reported on Thursday, November 21: 35 students and one adult were poisoned at the Alí Rodríguez Araque institution. The fire department reported that it was due to an unknown chemical compound.

Firefighters went to the school, cordoned off the area and evacuated those affected. They are now investigating precisely what caused the accident.

The previous cases

The first poisoning was recorded on November 5 and affected 94 people in a school in the state of Barinas, where a 14-year-old student, now detained, allegedly uncovered a bottle that contained “a pink liquid substance” that “is being analyzed.”

The second situation was recorded on November 8 in Turén, Portuguesa state, where 85 students were poisoned by an “alleged unidentified chemical substance.”

Those affected presented symptoms such as fainting and breathing difficulties. Some became unconscious and when they regained consciousness, they did not remember what had happened.

These mass poisonings are attributed to a dangerous known viral challenge like “Chroming”.

Alert for dangerous challenge

He chroming It involves inhaling toxic fumes from metallic paints, solvents, glue, nail polish removers, deodorants, gasoline, insecticides, and aerosol chemicals. The goal is to “experience” a feeling of euphoria.

However, this practice can have fatal consequences, as is the case of a 13-year-old Australian teenager, Esra Haynes, who died after inhaling chemicals from a can of aerosol deodorant, as reported by 7news.com.au.

Esra’s father, Paul Haynes, said his daughter spent a week and a half in the hospital, but did not recover.

Inhaling high amounts of these chemicals can create a brief euphoric effect, as well as dizziness, vomiting, heart failure and brain damage, and in the long term they can cause memory loss, lower IQ, depression, anxiety or difficulty concentrating.

Cicpc officials They investigate mass poisonings that affected 179 people in two schools in the country at the beginning of November, a situation that has generated deep concern among parents, educators and authorities.