http://allafrica.com/stories/200401120232.html
Former VP Could Have Been Given Cyanide
The East African Standard (Nairobi)
January 11, 2004
Posted to the web January 12, 2004
Maina Muiruri
Nairobi
The poison that was used in an apparent attempted on the life of Prof George
Saitoti in 1990 may have had the deadly cyanide compound.
Experts on the symptoms exhibited by Saitoti, soon after he took poisoned
food at a Nairobi hotel, point to a substance laced with cyanide or other
deadly poisons similar to cyanide.
Immediately after he ate the suspect food, Saitoti started sweating before
running out of breath as he held his stomach in severe pain. The skin on his
hands started peeling off after treatment, all of which are symptoms of a
cyanide attack.
According to a city pharmacologist, exposure to cyanide can cause immediate
death.
"Cyanide is a substance that binds to haemoglobin, the blood's
oxygen-carrying protein, better than oxygen does. When cyanide is bound to
the haemoglobin, the blood can't pick up oxygen in the lungs and carry it to
the body's tissues, and the body's cells die from lack of oxygen. That is
why someone starts gasping for breath when the effects take over and
breaking into sweat due to the effort," said the pharmacologist.
Rapid death may be caused by swallowing as little as 300 milligrams of
cyanide or inhaling 100 milligrams of HCN (hydrogen cyanide), says the
expert.
"As an immediate result of this interference, the respiratory chain shuts
down by inhibiting electron transfer. Cell respiratory processes then cease
and the period from ingestion to death is only a few minutes away," says the
expert.
Because the poison acts very fast, recovery from half-lethal doses will
depend on the promptness of administering antidotes.
However, due to the toxic effect of cyanide, the skin often peels off even
after treatment. The severe stomach pain could be a result of other
substances in the concoction, says the expert.
The pharmacologist says cyanides are both man-made and naturally occurring
substances. They are found in several plant species and are produced by
certain bacteria, fungi and algae. In very small amounts, cyanide is a
necessary requirement in the human diet. Indeed, it is the easiest poison to
administer because it adds no suspicious odour to the food.
Cyanides are readily absorbed by inhaling, swallowing, or through dermal
routes. The central nervous system (CNS) is the primary target organ for
cyanide toxicity. Symptoms of exposure to lower concentrations include
breathing difficulties, nervousness, vertigo, headache, nausea and vomiting.
Cyanides are neutralised but if they last in a high dose in the body for a
long time, the patient will die. Antidotes restore superiority of oxygen in
the haemoglobin and a recovering patient is required to take a lot of water
to help drain away high toxicity.
Some of the poisons were used by spy agencies, like CIA, KGB, Mossad during
the Cold War and were designed to kill without recovery, according to
pharmacologists. Only the makers of the poison may have an antidote.
It is easy to administer a drop of cyanide-laced substance into the food or
drink shortly before serving and not change the smell of the food at all.
Saitoti was most likely given such a dose with his food but quick action by
his bodyguards and doctors saved him.
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