Ebola izvan Afrike / Ebola outside Afrika

Ono čega se WHO najviše bojao se upravo događa. Naime ebola je izašla iz Afrike i krenula u svijet. Na svu sreću svi slučajevi su na vrijeme locirani i stavljeni pod karantin i data im je lječnička pomoć. 

The worst WHO fears have come to pass. Ebola have stepped out of Africa via uncontrolled means. Fortunately all cases were located and isolated and under medical care. All people who came in contact with them have been quarantined.

Potvrđeni slučajevi / Confirmed cases

USA

Do sada su zabilježena dva slučaja Ebole, obadva u Dallasu, Teksas. Prvi slučaj je na žalost završio fatalno i radilo se o putniku iz Zapadne Afrike koji nije pokazivao znake bolesti tokom putovanja već se razbolio nekoliko dana po dolasku u USA. Sve osobe koje su došle u kontakt sa njim su stavljene pod karantin. Na žalost bolesnik je preminuo nekoliko dana poslje. Drugi slučaj je medicinski radnik koji je radio oko ovog bolesnika. Međutim važno je napomenuti da je on preliminarno testiran i taj test je bio pozitivan, kako napominju zvaničnici iz CDC, potrebno je ponoviti testove da bi se sa sigurnošću znalo. Osoba je takođe stavljena u karantin.

Up to now two cases of Ebola have been found in US. First case is a man whom traveled from West Africa to US for family visit. He wasn't sick during the travel but developed the illness after he arrived in US. Unfortunately he died few days later. All people who came in to contact with him have been quarantined. Second case is still unclear. A health worker working on this patient have been tested positive to virus. Still, this is a preliminary result and more testing is needed, in the mean time the person is under quarantine and observation.

Takođe u SAD zabilježeno je i nekoliko lažnih uzbuna. S druge strane SAD je postrožio svoje mjere na graničnim prelazima, pogotovu na aerodromima prema putnicima koji dolaze iz Afrike. Ispitivanja i mjerenje temperature su sada obavezni za te putnike.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/10/12/ebola/z3DybKoXBg0XjPO6m5yVgK/story.html

Also worth to note is that there were few false alarms around US which have been dismissed later. Also the US authorities have stepped up the border control especially on airports targeting mostly travelers from Africa. The temperature measurements and questioning are now part of the routine checking of those passengers.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/10/12/ebola/z3DybKoXBg0XjPO6m5yVgK/story.html

Španija / Spain

Medicinska sestra, koja je pomagala misionaru koji je obolio u Africi i prebačen u Španiju na liječenje i koji je na žalost preminuo, je takođe postala zaražena, prema njenim riječima svojom pogreškom tokom manipulacije zaraženom opremom. Njeno stanje se prema riječima tamošnjih dužnosnika popravlja. Takođe sve osobe koje su došle u kontakt sa njom su stavljene u karantin i prismotru. Jedina žrtva za sada u vezi sa ovom medicinskom sestrom je njen pas kojeg su vlasti eutanizirale na protest okolnih društava za zaštitu životinja. S druge strane eutanaziranje je možda bilo preuranjeno, vlasti su možda trebale zadržati ovog psa kao vrijedan izvor informacija o tome kako se Ebola ponaša kod drugih životinja pogotovu kućnih ljubimaca (psi i mačke), s obzirom da o tome vrlo malo znamo.

http://news.yahoo.com/first-outside-africa-nurse-spain-hospital-contracts-ebola-174043185.html

A nurse fell ill in Spain after she contracted the disease during her work caring for a missionary whom contracted Ebola in Africa during his work helping people there. The missionary unfortunately died in Spain after he was transferred from Africa for medical care. The nurse contracted the disease because she made an error during manipulation with infected equipment. All persons who came in contact with here were put under observation and quarantine. As Spanish official announced the nurses health is improving at the moment. Her dog on the other hand was euthanized by authorities under protest from many animal rights organisations (PETA and such). On the other hand this euthanization might be a mistake as we know very little about how this disease is spread among other animals, especially pets. This dog could have brought some knowledge about this.

http://news.yahoo.com/first-outside-africa-nurse-spain-hospital-contracts-ebola-174043185.html

Potvrđeni slučajevi koji su kontrolirano prebačeni iz Afrike u svoje matične zemlje zbog liječenja / Confirmed cases of Ebola outside Africa whom have been transported in their countries for medical attention under controlled environment. 

Nju Jork Times iznosi podatak da za sada takvih kontroliranih slučajeva ima 13 od kojih je dvoje umrlo, 6 ih je još pod medicinskom brigom a 6 ih se oporavilo. U ovo nisu uračunati gore pomenuti slučajevi.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/31/world/africa/ebola-virus-outbreak-qa.html?_r=0

New York Times gives this set of data for controlled cases of Ebola: total of 13 cases of transported infected, mostly medical workers from Africa, two of which died, 6 are still in treatment and 6 have recovered. In this numbers above, wild cases were not included.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/31/world/africa/ebola-virus-outbreak-qa.html?_r=0

Lažne uzbune i pojačane mjere opreza / False alarms and increased control measures

Posljednjih dana je bilo dosta lažnih uzbuna po ovom pitanju pa ću samo pomenuti nama najbliže i one najveće u svjetu.

Makedonia: Jedna osoba, engleski državljanjin je naglo oboljela u svojoj hotelskoj sobi, prebačen je u bolnicu gdje je preminuo od unutarnjeg krvarenja. Kasniji nalazi su potvrdili da osoba nije bolovala od ebole niti od drugih vrsta hemoralgičnih groznca.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ebola-briton-who-died-in-macedonia-did-not-have-deadly-virus-officials-say-9789075.html

Crna Gora: Dvije osobe, putnici iz Nigerije su zadržane na areodromu Podgorica u trajanju oko 1 sat (zbog ispitivanja ali na žalost sa malo uspijeha jer ispitivači nisu znali Engleski) i kasnije pušteni uz obavezne kontrole svaki dan dok su se nalazili u Crnoj Gori.

http://dailypost.ng/2014/09/21/ebola-two-nigerian-lecturers-recount-montenegro-airport-officials-quarantined-hour/

Hrvatska i Srbija: U obije države su pojačane mjere kontrole putnika koji dolaze iz zaraženih zona. U Hrvatskoj se trenutno nalazi 18 osoba pod medicinskom prismotrom koje su došle iz Nigerije i Liberije. U Srbiji se nalazi trenutno oko 720 ljudi pod sličnom prismotrom.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/croatia-monitors-africa-returnees-for-ebola
http://inserbia.info/today/2014/10/no-ebola-in-serbia-health-care-system-ready/

Albanija: Postoje neke vrlo nepotvrđene informacije da su u Albaniji zaustavili emigrante od kojih su neki pokazivali simptome bolesti. Međutim ove informacije su čini se samo izmišljotina. Sve ovo se navodno desilo još negdje u Avgustu.

Last days were full of false alarms in many places, because there are a lot of them i will just cover the closest ones to my country.

Macedonia: An Englishman died in a hospital after he fell ill in his hotel room. The death was caused from massive internal bleeding which made medical personal there suspect the Ebola virus. Fortunately later was confirmed that it was not a case.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ebola-briton-who-died-in-macedonia-did-not-have-deadly-virus-officials-say-9789075.html

Montenegro: Two persons traveling from Nigeria were stopped in Podgorica airport and placed in quarantine zone for one hour for questioning (which proved difficult as none of interrogators knew English). Later the travelers were set free under condition to report every day to the medical authorities during their stay in Montenegro.

http://dailypost.ng/2014/09/21/ebola-two-nigerian-lecturers-recount-montenegro-airport-officials-quarantined-hour/

Croatia and Serbia: Both countries have tighten their control over borders toward travelers from Africa. In Croatia 18 persons are under medical surveillance and in Serbia more than 720 all of which were travelers from Africa.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/croatia-monitors-africa-returnees-for-ebola
http://inserbia.info/today/2014/10/no-ebola-in-serbia-health-care-system-ready/

Albania: A rumor surfaced that Albanian police have stopped 40 immigrants from Africa some of which showed symptoms of Ebola. Those rumors were almost certainly not true. Anyways this alleged event had taken place in August.

Nije za uzgred ponoviti! kako se prenosi Ebola. / Lets go over it again! How Ebola is transmitted.

Ebola se prenosi direktnim kontaktom sa inficiranim tjelesnim tečnostima (krv, mokraća, slina, plazma, mljeko, sperma, izmet, gnjoj) preko sluznica ili kroz otvorene povrede. Bolest ne može proći kroz kožu i mora doći u dodir sa sluznicama (kroz usta ili seksualnim kontaktom) ili ranicama. Takođe prenosi se i preko zaraženih predmeta poput nesteriliziranih medicinskih pomagala, ćebadi, odjeće i sličnog, opet samo kroz sluznice ili otvorene ranice. Postoji sumlja i da se može prenjeti preko aerosola sline kroz kihanje i kašljanje ali takvi slučajevi nikada nisu dokumentirani i najvjerovatnije su malo su vjerovatni.

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids (blood, sperm, plasma, milk, urine, feces, pus, saliva) through mucous and open wounds. The virus can not pas through healthy skin and must came in contact with open wound and mucous (through mouth or during sexual contact). Also it can be transmitted through infected items such unclean medical equipment, blankets or clothing. There is a concern that it can be transmitted through aerosol of infected saliva but it was never observed and it is a very low chance if even possible.

Inkubacija traje do 22 dana ali se može javiti i poslje samo nekoliko dana od zaraze.

Incubation lasts up to 22 days but the onset could happen only few days after infection.

Bolesnik je zarazan tek kada se bolest pojavi simptomima, dok je bolest u inkubaciji bolesnik nije zarazan, barem ne u normalnim uslovima življenja i kontakata. Leš umrle osobe od ove bolesti je jako zarazan i veoma opasan za manipuliranje. Osoba koja je preležala bolest nije zarazna u normalnim uslovima življenja i kontakata, međutim virus se može zadržati u spermi muškarca više mjeseci tako da se preporučuje seksualna apstinencija u trajanju od bar 90 dana uz obavezne kontrole da bi se odredila preostala količina virusa do potpunog nestanka istog.

The patient is contagious only during symptoms phase, during the illness onset and duration. During the incubation patient is not contagious during normal circumstances of life and contacts. The corpse of a person whom died from this illness is highly contagious and very dangerous and should be handled with utmost care and preferably by expert professionals. The person whom survived the illness and does not present any symptoms any more is not contagious under normal circumstances of life. But it was found that the virus can be present in sperm of male survivors for months. It is advised to restrain from sexual contacts for at least 90 days after the infection end, and to control the level of virus via medical exams until person is declared virus free.

Osoba koja je preležala Ebolu je imuna iako se ne zna koliko ta imunost traje. Do sada nisu zabilježeni slučajevi da je preležala osoba bila ponovo zaražena.

Person whom survived the outbreak is immune but it is unknown for how long. Up untill now there were no reported cases of person getting reinfected with the disease.

Prevencija / Prevention

Održavati ličnu higijenu na visokom nivou, obavezno pranje ruku i cijelog tijela ukoliko se dođe u kontakt sa oboljelom osobom, svaki put kad do toga dođe. Pregledati svoje tijelo dali postoje otvorene ranice ili oštećenja i propisno ih dezinficirati i zaštititi hanzaplastom ili nekim drugim nepropusnim materijalom. Održavati čistoću u kući i na radnom mjestu upotrebom dezinficirajućih sredstava poput tečnosti za pranje prozora, varikinom i slično. Ovo je pogotovu važno ukoliko se došlo u kontakt sa zaraženom osobom i tada je dezinfekcija obavezna. 

Maintaining personal hygiene all the time, washing hands and whole body especially if you come in contact with infected person. Check your body for any open wounds or damage and disinfect those places on skin and cover them with bandaid or some other waterproof aid. Maintain cleanliness in the household and in work place using disinfectant liquids and detergents.   

Ukoliko se radi oko osobe koja je zaražena (pomaganje ili asistencija u lječenju bolesnika), a nema se propisna hazmat oprema, propisno zaštititi usta i disajne puteve maskom, oči nekim zaštitnim plastičnim radnim naočarima, upotrebljavati gumene rukavice i obući dugi vodonepropusni mantil čiji su otvori zatvoreni nekim nepropusnim selotejpom, Odjeću i posteljinu za koju se sumlja da je zaražena treba spaliti, naravno oprezno da se ne bi izazvao požar.

In case you need to take care of unfortunate victim of infection and you don't have appropriate hazmat suit, use any means to protect your mouth and nose (using makeshift mask soaked in disinfectant), protect hands with rubber gloves, protect eyes with protective eye-gear and ware a long raincoat fastened with belt and sealed off with adhesive tape. All clothing and bedding suspected to be infected just burn in controlled manner to avoid uncontrolled fire.

Vakcine i lijek / Vaccines and cure

Trenutno ne postoji lijek protiv ove bolesti, međutim postoji nekoliko modela liječenja koji daju rezultate koji obećavaju i koji obuhvataju neke novo razvijene antiviralne ljekove i simptomatsku medicinu.

At the moment there is no cure for this illness. Some promising treatments exist involving newly developed antiviral drugs and via symptomatic medicine, but all of those are highly experimental.

Vakcina se ubrzano razvija i već su počeli testovi na ljudima u pogođenim djelovima svijeta. Međutim očekuje se masovna primjena iste tek za oko 6 mjeseci kada testiranje na ljudima donese rezultate i ukoliko se pokaže efikasnom.

Vaccine is under fast development and already is been tested in the field in affected areas of the World. In any case the vaccine should be available for mass production in about 6 months if those tests in field come back positive.

Linkovi / Links

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/en/

http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/11/6962039/ebola-vaccine-is-now-being-tested-in-west-africa

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-vaccine-being-tested-in-rapid-fashion-say-researchers/

http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20141011-suspected-french-ebola-case-tests-negative-minister

http://news.yahoo.com/first-outside-africa-nurse-spain-hospital-contracts-ebola-174043185.html

Opasne biljke u našim vrtovima 2 / Dangerous plants in our gardens 2nd

Oleandra / Oleander / Nerium

Oleandar je zimzeleni drvenasti grm, velikih cvijetova raspoređenih u razuđene cvasti, listovi su duguljasti i kožasti sa tvrdom kutikulom. Izuzetno otporna biljka koja se odvajkada sadi zbog ljepote svojih cvjetova. Cvjetovi su veliki sa pet latica i dolaze u skoro svim bojama, šarama i oblicima pošto je ova biljka godinama uzgajana kao ukrasna i stvoreno je more različitih sorti. Najčešće boje su ružičasta, bjela, narandžasta, ljubičasta, žuta, crvena i jako rijetko plava. Postoje i višebojne sorte kao i tip uzgajanja gdje se stvaraju grmovi koji imaju više boja na jednom deblu kroz kalemljenje. Biljka se veoma jednostavno razmnožava običnim reznicama i izuzetno se lako kalemi sa sorte na sortu.

Oleander is a evergreen shrub or small tree with long, narrow and leathery leafs. The flowers are big, lush, bright colored, which grow in big lose blossoms. it is robust plant growing in sunny and dry places. Thanks to artificial selection the flowers come in many sizes and colors: white, pink, purple, red and even rarely blue. Multicolored varieties exist also and even multicolored shrubs made by grafting different varieties on same trunk. The plant can be easily reproduced using just cuttings in soil.

Porijeklo biljke je nepoznato jer se uzgaja od davnina kao ukrasna biljka pa se milenijumima proširila svugdje po Evroaziji. Prema nekim arheološkim nalazima smatra se da je biljka potekla negdje iz Sjeverozapadne Afrike, vjerovatno iz Maroka. Sama biljka voli suha i sunčana mjesta ali mjesta na kojima je ipak dostupna određena količina vlage tako da ju je dosta rijetko naći u samim pustinjama iako i tamo relativno dobro uspijeva. Trenutno najviše je ima oko Mediterana, Bliski Istok, Indija a od nedavno izuzetno je popularna i u novom svjetu Sjeverna i Južna Amerika i Australija.

The native region of plant is unknown as it is used for millenia as ornamental plant and have spread all over the world. It is theorized that the original homeland of this plant is Northwest Africa, mainly Morocco but now it can be find wild in many areas in the world, mostly around Mediterranean, Middle East, India and from recently in the new world, North and South America and Australia. The plant likes sunny places and can thrive in dry areas even deserts but there is found sporadically.

Otrovnost / Poisons

Cjela biljka je izuzetno otrovna a najveći dio otrovnosti potiče od oleandrina jedinjenja iz grupe kardioglukozida. Simptomi trovanja su mučnina i povraćanje, proliv, excesivno slinenje ili balenje, srčana aritmija i stomačni bolovi.

The entire plant is highly poisonous and most of its toxicity comes from oleandrin a cardiac glycoside. The symptoms are nausea, excessive salivating, heart problems, vomiting, stomach ache and diarrhea. 

Međutim i pored svoje otrovnosti biljka je relativno bezopasna ako se sa njom rukuje oprezno jer toksin utiče na tijelo samo ako je unesen direktno oralno ili intravenski. Sama aktivna supstanca oleandrin je relativno stabilno jedinjenje koje je u čistom stanju čvrsti kristal koji se topi tek na 250 stepeni celzijusa i ne absorbira se kroz kožu tako da ne postoji opasnost od trovanja prilikom direktnog manipuliranja (međutim savijet je oprati ruke poslje rada sa biljkom).

But contrary to the high toxicity of oleandrine the plant it self pose a little threat if it is handled with care. The poison is toxic only if ingested or given intravenously, can not affect a person through skin and it is difficult to become airborne ans the compound is a solid with melting point over 250 degree Celsius (482 F). Still it is highly advisable to wash hands after manipulating the plant.

Oleandrin (kao dio ekstrakta biljke) se uglavnom koristi u narodnoj medicini kod mnogih problema iako je njegova primjena izuzetno opsna. Postoje neke naznake da bi ovo jedinjenje moglo naći primjenu u standardnoj medicini, kod nekih srčanih problema a postoje i naznake da ima i dejstvuje protiv raka. Ova potonja su zanimljiva jer izgleda da ovo jedinjenje povećava senzitivnost tumora na radioterapiju, osnosno da zračenje bolje djeluje na tumorske ćelike pod dejstvom ovog jedinjenja. Važno je za napomenuti da su istraživanja u veoma ranoj fazi, direktno na ćelijama tumora u petrijevim šoljama. Ovo znači da olendrin još nije primjenjen ni na životinjama a ispitivanja na ljudima su još godinama daleko. Postoji opasnost da oleandrin može izazvati i radiosenzitivnost i na zdravim ćelijama što bi ga odmah eliminisalo kao potencijalni lijek, da ne govorimo o njegovoj normalnoj toksičnosti.

Oleandrine is mainly used in folk medicine (as extract or tincture) but it is dangerous practice which can result in adverse effects. In standard medicine olenadrine is tested for potential uses in some heart conditions and as anti-cancer drug. As anti-cancer drug it shows an interesting property as it makes cancerous cells susceptible to radiation making the radiation therapy more effective. But it us important to note that those results are highly preliminary not evolved out from petri-dish experiments with cancerous tissue. The experiments on animals did not yet began and human testings are years away. The problem is that oleandtine is highly toxic and there is a high probability that same radio sensitivity could affect healthy cells.

Zanimljivosti vezane za oleandar / Interesting facts about Oleander

Ekstrakt oleandra se od davnina koristi kao otrov izbora kod namijernih trovanja poput ubistava ili samoubistava. Zanimljivo je da je ekstrakt oleandra otrov izbora u pokušajima samoubistava na Šri Lanci, međutim samo 10% takvih pokušaja završava smrću.

Extract of oleander was used through history as a poison of choice as murder weapon or suicide drug. Interesting in Sri Lanka it is most used suicide poison but with low success rate (around 10% of attempts finish fatally)

Oleandar je izuzetno opasnan otrov za neke vrste životinja, pogotovu pse i mačke ali i stoku pogotovu konje koji vole da jedu izboje oleandra koji sadrže dosta šećera. Znimljivo je i to da nije previše otrovan za ptice i glodare (miševe i štakore). Ovo je zanimljivo s toga što se kroz vjekove često koristio kao otrov za miševe ali iz ovoga se vidi da ta primjena vjerovatno nije imala većeg efekta.

Oleander is also dangerous to some animals, especially cats and dogs but also for livestock like cows and horses. Horses are especially in danger due theirs sensitivity to oleandrine as they love to eat sweet young shoots of the plant. Interestingly enough the poison is not that effective on birds and rodents (like mice or rats). Oleander extract was used for centuries as rat poison but as research suggest, probably without much success.

Urbana legenda / Urban Legend.

Na mnogim mjestima u svjetu postoji priča o tome kako su kamperi otrovali sami sebe jedući hranu koju su ispekli ili roštiljali na drvetu dobivenom sa oleandra. Na žalost nema načina da se ove priče istraže na bilo koji način zbog sporadične pojave i manjka dokaza. Moj savjet je da kamperi ne koriste oleandar kao gorivo za roštilj, iako ne postoje dokazi da je ovo tačno bolje biti oprezan.

There is a urban legend going around about campers get poisoned with food cooked on fire burning on oleander sticks. Unfortunately there are no documented occurrences of this or any investigation which could confirm it. Anyways I advice against using oleander sticks as fuel for fire, as people say "better to worry than to be sorry".

Na kraju / Last thoughts about this

Ova biljka pored svoje toksičnosti nije previše opasna za rukovanje i ne predstavlja realnu opasnost. Ukoliko se rukuje sa njom oprezno, operu ruke poslje rada sa njom, ne upotrebljava kao gorivo i ne dozvoli se životinjama da jedu njene izdanke, ne postoji nikakva realna opasnost od nje i sasvim je dobar dodatak bilo kojem cvjetnom vrtu.

This plant is not overly dangerous despite its high toxicity. Some precautions must be taken during handling the plant, wash your hands after tending the oleander, do not allow livestock to eat the plant, do not use oleander wood for fuel and you should be reasonably safe. There is no reason why you shouldn't use it as an additional decoration in your flowering gardens.

Opasne biljke u našim vrtovima 1 / Dangerous plants in our gardens 1st

Anđeoska Truba ili Đavoja Truba / Angel's trumpet or Brugmansia

Na našim prostorima od nedavno ova biljka postaje sve raširenija zbog ljepote i mirisa cvjetova, širokih listova koji stvaraju dobar hlad i zbog lakoće uzgajanja. Izuzetno je otporna biljka iako traži dosta sunca i vode da bi bila bujna. Takođe lako se i razmnožava prostim reznicama. Cvjeta kroz Avgust i Septembar, velike duguljaste cvjetove, bjele, žute ili ružičaste boje. 

From recently this plant has become very popular in our gardens. It has a lush foliage (for deep shade), remarkable big long flowers with strong but pleasant smell. It is very resistant but needs a lot of Sun and water to achieve full very lush vegetation. It is flowering during months of August and September.

Burgmansia u divljini
Burgmansia in wild

Ova biljka prirodno raste uglavnom u Južnoj Americi u tropskim oblastima, osobito gdje je vegetacija gusta ali se godinama odomaćila svugdje po svijetu, najčešće kao dekorativna biljka. Lokalno se koristi u narodnoj medicini kao sedativ i u religioznim ceremonijama zbog halucinogenih svojstava.

Natural habitat for this plant is in South America, in tropical regions like Brasil, Columbia or Venezuela but nowadays have spread all over the world as very popular ornamental plant. Locally is used in shaman or folk medicine as sedative and during some religious practices in local religions due its strong hallucinogenic properties. 

Nepoznato mnogima ovo je ujedno i jedna od najotrovnijih biljaka u našoj okolini. Biljka sadrži mnoge vrlo otrovne alkaloide, najviše u sjemenu i lišću. Na primjer Scopolamin ili hyoscyamine. Trovanje izaziva audiovizualne halucinacije koje su češto košmarne prirode, raširene zjenice, konfuziju, paralizu glatkih mišića (poput dijafragme, odnosno zaustavlja disanje), probleme sa srčanim mišićem poput aritmije proliv i smrt. Takođe izaziva i amneziju, otrovani se često ničega ne sjeća dok je bio pod dejstvom otrova ove biljke.

Mahuna
Pod

Sjemenke
Seeds

Many people do not know but this is one of the most poisonous plants round. It contains many highly toxic alkaloids like  Scopolamine or hyoscyamine especially in seeds and leafs. Symptoms of poisoning are severe and can lead to death, those symptoms include audio visual hallucinations usually nightmarish type, migraine, diarrhea, tachycardia, paralysis of smooth muscles like diaphragm (it stops breathing). Also it causes amnesia or blackout and affected person often do not remember anything from the time he or she was affected with those poisons.

Zanimljivost vezana za alkaloid skopolamin. / Some interesting facts about scopolamine

Skopolamin je jedan od najpoznatijih otrova u modernoj kulturi, često se pominje u filmovima i knjigama kriminalističkog ili špijunskog žanra kao serum istine. Malo poznato je da je stvarno korišten kontraobavještajnim akcijama, pogotovu tokom prve polovine 20 vijeka kao droga izbora za uspavljivanje žrtve, zbog osobine da se žrtva ničega ne sjeća, a rijeđe kao serum istine iako je ta primjena takođe zabilježena u mnogim kontraobavještajnim službama. Međutim danas se ova droga više nekoristi jer je previše opasna i trovanje veoma često završava fatalno što je kontraproduktivno u špijunaži.

Scopolamine is known as drug of choice in many movies, shows and books of crime and spy genre, specially by the name as truth serum. Little known is a fact that this drug was really used in counter intelligence and in real spying (first half of 20th century) due its effect to knock down the victim which subsequently do not remember the fact. There were some tries to use this drug as truth serum but that was sporadic and mostly unsuccessful. Afterwards the use of this drug was abandoned as it is very dangerous and often lethal.

Takođe ova droga se često koristi tokom kriminalnih radnji, pogotovu da bi se žrtva opljačkala, sipajući ovu drogu u piće ili na neki drugi način. Ovakve kriminalne radnje često završavaju smrtnim slučajem a ukoliko osoba preživi obično se ne sjeća kriminalnog čina. Postoje čak neprovjereni izvještaji da se ova droga koristi da bi se žrtva natijerala da sama počini neki zločin, poput ubistva upravo zbog efekta da se osoba ničega poslje ne sjeća. Međutim ovo zadnje je u domenu urbane legende.

It is known that this drug is used by criminals usually to spike a drink of a victim to rob them afterwards. Sometimes fatal this drug is a drug of choice for those felons because victim does not remember the fact afterwards. There is also an unconfirmed urban legend around that criminals use this drug to force somebody else to commit a crime (usually murder) and that the victim of this chemically induced mind-control does not remember anything. But this is unconfirmed by official sources and it is, as i said, in the domain of urban legend.

Zaključak / Conclusion

Da se opet vratim na ovu biljku, veoma je rizično držati ovu bilku u vrtu zbog mogućih neželjenih posljedica, ljudi bi trebali vagati moguću opasnost od slučajnog trovanja u odnosu na estetiku. Po meni bi uvijek trebali izabrati sigurnost. Zabilježeni su slučajevi trovanja samo udisanjem isparenja tokom vrućih ljetnjih dana ako se osoba nalazi blizu osobito bujne biljke. Takva trovanja su rijetko fatalna ali mogu izazvati dosta problema otrovanoj osobi jer se takva osoba iracionalno ponaša, može halucinirati ili se jednostavno onesvijestiti a u takvim uslovima povrede čak i ozbiljne su dosta česte.

To get back to this interesting plant, it is very risky to keep this plant for ornamental purposes, because there is always a risk of accidental poisoning. My opinion is that you should chose some other, less dangerous plant. There are known cases of poisoning just by inhaling poisonous fumes during hot Summer days if person happens to be to close to one of those lush plants. Those poisonings are rarely fatal but it can cause a mountain of problems to the victim due to irrational behavior, possible hallucinations or just plain fainting, all of which can cause injures.

Ovo je izuzetno lijepa ali i strahovito opasna biljka sa kojom se treba rukovati sa velikim oprezom.

This is a most beautiful but extremely dangerous plant and anybody who owns one should handle it with utmost care.