Over 400M acute pesticide poisonings occur worldwide each year: Study

Between 402 million and 433 million cases of unintentional acute pesticide poisoning occur worldwide each year, including around 11,000 fatalities, according to a new study.

The research, published Sept. 2 in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, estimates that approximately 46% of the world’s farming population is affected by pesticide poisoning annually.

Researchers based the figure on a global farming and occupational population of approximately 934 million people. The greatest estimated number of non-fatal cases was recorded in southern Asia, followed by southeastern Asia and eastern Africa.

The study updated an earlier systematic review by examining scientific literature published between 2006 and 2023 and supplementing the findings with data from the World Health Organization’s Mortality Database.

It covered 139 countries, including 62 represented in 214 scientific articles and another 77 covered through WHO mortality records.

The publications reviewed directly documented around 369,600 annual cases, including more than 9,100 deaths. Researchers then produced global estimates by combining national figures with regional population data.

The authors said the findings demonstrated that acute pesticide poisoning remained a major global public health challenge despite international efforts over the past two decades to reduce the harmful effects of pesticide use.

Global pesticide consumption increased from around 1.8 million tons in 1990 to 3.8 million tons in 2023. Usage rose by 210% in the Americas and 185% in Africa during that period, while declining by 5% in Europe.

The researchers warned that the burden of non-fatal poisoning, particularly among farmers and farmworkers, has received insufficient attention because international monitoring and policy measures have tended to focus on fatalities and intentional self-poisoning.

They also said official figures may significantly underestimate the problem, as many affected people do not seek medical treatment because of financial constraints, limited access to health facilities, fear of losing work or inadequate reporting systems.

At the same time, the authors acknowledged that extrapolating results from surveys conducted in high-risk agricultural areas or using non-specific symptoms could lead to overestimates.

The study also cited inconsistent definitions, limited national data, small sample sizes and the absence of standardized reporting systems as important limitations. Some countries were represented by only one publication.

The researchers called for standardized surveillance and reporting protocols and stronger national monitoring systems.

They also urged governments to implement international recommendations to phase out highly hazardous pesticides where risks cannot be adequately controlled, saying such action could substantially reduce the global poisoning burden.