With recent news regarding letters, mailed to both President Obama and Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, that tested positive for the poisonous substance known as ricin, many may be wondering what this toxin really is and what it is capable of.
The potent toxin is actually derived from the beans of a castor plant that is used to make castor oil and is native to warm climates like Africa and other locations throughout the world. And although it may be surprising to learn that such a dangerous substance comes from a plant, ricin's structure makes it a possible weapon of mass destruction, as it is stable in aerosolized form and can be dispersed.
In fact, ricin has many of the characteristics that make it a possible weapon of mass destruction, including its lethal nature and the fact that its production is inexpensive and can be made in large quantities. Even more disconcerting is that there is no vaccine or treatment available for the effects of ricin as of now.
And while it would take a fairly large amount of the toxin to kill a large amount of people, its efficacy is high in a closed environment.
There are many ways that ricin can be transferred, including through injection and aerosol dispersal. But perhaps the most detrimental method would be via food and water contamination, which would cause many deaths.
"Ricin is a potent biological toxin that is derived from castor beans. Its mechanism of action in the body is inhibition of protein synthesis. Clinical manifestations are dependent on the route of exposure," said Thomas Caraccio, clinical pharmacist at Winthrop University Hospital in New York.
"Ingestion of ricin typically leads to profuse vomiting and diarrhea followed by multisystem organ failure and possibly death within 36 to 72 hours of exposure. Inhalation of ricin typically leads to respiratory distress, fever, and cough followed by the development of pulmonary edema, hypotension, respiratory failure, and possibly death within 36 to 72 hours."
Symptoms of ricin exposure vary depending on how much of the toxin is absorbed into the body and how an individual was exposed whether it is via, respiratory, gastrointestinal or percutaneous pathways.
If exposure occurred through inhalation, it would likely affect many people at the same time and signs of exposure would manifest within 8 hours.
"People exposed to the ricin may experience symptoms such as fever nausea and vomiting, a progressively severe cough, and congestion in the nose and the throat," the health site WebMD describes.
But if ricin were ingested, it would cause a different spectrum of symptoms.
"People who ingested ricin may feel abdominal pain, often accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea," WebMD writes. "If exposed to ricin by ingesting contaminated foods or beverages, symptoms may initially mimic food poisoning, usually within 6 hours after ingestion."
And if an individual were to be exposed to ricin via injection, they would most likely experience pain and swelling at the injection site, including other symptoms like body aches, nausea and vomiting.
But regardless of how an individual is exposed to ricin, it is extremely important that they seek immediate medical attention because any instance of ricin exposure could result in death.