A Sacramento woman went to the emergency room in July with numbness in her hands and feet, slurred speech and trouble walking.
七月份,萨克拉门托的一名女子因手脚发麻、口齿不清且走路困难而去了急诊室。
The 47-year-old mother of five wasn't having a stroke or heart attack. She was suffering from mercury poisoning from a tainted anti-wrinkle cream imported from Mexico, KCRA-TV reported.
这名47岁有5个孩子的母亲并没有中风或心脏病发作。据KCRA-TV报道,她因使用了从墨西哥进口的被污染的抗皱面霜而汞中毒。
She has been in the hospital since then, according to her son, who told KCRA he wished to remain unidentified. His mother, who also hasn't been identified, was initially able to respond to verbal commands before she entered her semi-comatose state.
从那时起她就一直在医院里,她的儿子告诉KCRA,但他表示不希望表明身份,而他母亲的身份也未被证实。在她进入半昏迷状态之前,她最初还能对口头指令做出反应。
Olivia Kasirye, the public health officer for the Sacramento County Department of Health Services, told CBS Sacramento that the woman's cream contained methylmercury, a very toxic type of mercury.
萨克拉门托县卫生服务部门公共卫生官员奥利维亚·卡西尔耶告诉哥伦比亚广播公司萨克拉门托分公司,这位女士的面霜中含有甲基汞,这是一种毒性很高的汞。
This is the first time a methylmercury poisoning from face cream has occurred in the United States, the department said in a statement.
该部门在一份声明中表示,这是美国首次出现由面霜引起的甲基汞中毒。
Kasirye is urging the public to immediately discontinue use of similar skin creams imported from Mexico because of how dangerous methylmercury is for adults and children.
卡希尔耶敦促公众立即停止使用从墨西哥进口的类似护肤霜,因为甲基汞对成人和儿童都是非常危险的。
"We don't know whether this was an intentional change or whether there was a mistake in the person who was adding the mercury," she said, telling the station that there's an informal network of suppliers who bring the altered skin creams into the country.
“我们不知道这是故意更换的,还是添加汞的人犯了错,”她说道。她告诉电视台,有一个非正式的供应商网络把被改动的护肤霜带入了美国。
The most common way that people are exposed to methylmercury is through eating fish and shellfish that contain the toxin, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
美国环境保护局表示,人们接触甲基汞最常见的方式是食用含有这种毒素的鱼类和贝类。
Skin exposure to methylmercury can affect the central and peripheral systems, with symptoms including tremors, memory loss and cognitive and motor dysfunction, according to the World Health Organization.
世界卫生组织称,皮肤接触到甲基汞会影响中枢和外周系统,引起震颤、记忆丧失、认知和运动功能障碍等症状。
The average amount of mercury in blood is up to about 5 micrograms per liter as a result of mercury that is likely to be in someone's diet, according to the New York State Department of Health. The woman had 2,630 micrograms per liter in her blood, according to KCRA.
纽约州卫生部门表示,由于人们饮食中可能含有汞,所以血液中汞的平均含量可达每升5微克,而据KCRA报道,这名女子血液中的汞含量为每升2630微克。
今日词汇
numbness [nʌmnəs] n. 无感觉,麻木
I have recently been suffering from pain and numbness in my hands.
我近来双手一直疼痛麻木。
形容词原形numb,adj. 麻木的;无动于衷的
I was so shocked I went numb.
我太过震惊,呆若木鸡。