1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning: Difference between revisions
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The '''1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning''', also known as '''Le Pain Maudit''' was a mass poisoning on 15 August 1951, in the small town of [[Pont-Saint-Esprit]] in southern [[France]]. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in [[psychiatric hospital|asylum]]s and 7 deaths. A [[foodborne illness]] was suspected, and among these it was originally believed to be a case of "cursed bread" (''pain maudit''). |
The '''1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning''', also known as '''Le Pain Maudit''' was a mass poisoning on 15 August 1951, in the small town of [[Pont-Saint-Esprit]] in southern [[France]]. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in [[psychiatric hospital|asylum]]s and 7 deaths. A [[foodborne illness]] was suspected, and among these it was originally believed to be a case of "cursed bread" (''pain maudit''). |
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Most academic sources accept [[ergotism|ergot poisoning]] as the cause of the epidemic. <ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1136/bmj.2.930.650-a|coauthors=Gabbai, Lisbonne and Pourquier|date=15 September 1951|title=Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit|journal=[[British Medical Journal]]|volume=2|issue=4732|pages=650–651|pmc=2069953|pmid=14869677}}</ref><ref name="Finger2001">{{cite book|author=Stanley Finger|title=Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_GMeW9E1IB4C&pg=PA221|accessdate=24 February 2013|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-514694-3|pages=221–}}</ref><ref name="PommervilleAlcamo2012">{{cite book|author1=Jeffrey C. Pommerville|author2=I. Edward Alcamo|title=Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology: Body Systems Edition|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Uf_Hl3Exti8C&pg=PA734|accessdate=24 February 2013|date=15 January 2012|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|isbn=978-1-4496-0594-0|pages=734–}}</ref><ref name="studioCavaciocchi2010">{{cite book|author1=Istituto internazionale di storia economica F. Datini. Settimana di studio|author2=Simonetta Cavaciocchi|title=Economic and biological interactions in pre-industrial Europe, from the 13th to the 18th century|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zeyGOrJ7jjIC&pg=PA82|accessdate=24 February 2013|year=2010|publisher=Firenze University Press|isbn=978-88-8453-585-6|pages=82–}}</ref><ref name="Burwick2010">{{cite book|author=Frederick Burwick|title=Poetic Madness and the Romantic Imagination|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=M39-oYlJce0C&pg=PA180|accessdate=24 February 2013|date=1 November 2010|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-04296-1|pages=180–}}</ref>, while a few theorize other causes such poisoning by [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], [[mycotoxins]], or [[nitrogen trichloride]]. Fringe theorists have speculated that the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) intentionally poisoned the population in order to test a deliriant incapacitating agent during the [[Cold War]]. |
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==Ergot Poisoning== |
==Ergot Poisoning== |
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==Mercury poisoning theory== |
==Mercury poisoning theory== |
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Later investigations suggested [[mercury poisoning]] due to the use of [[Panogen]] or other [[fungicide]]s used to treat grains and seeds.<ref>[[Jonathan Ott]], ''Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, their Plant Sources and History'' (Kennewick, W.A.: Natural Products Co., 1993), pg. 145. See also Dr. [[Albert Hofmann]], ''LSD: My Problem Child'' (New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1980), [http://www.lycaeum.org/books/books/my_problem_child/chapter1.html Chapter 1: "How LSD Originated," pg. 6.]</ref> [[Paranormal]] researcher [[John G. Fuller]], citing the opinion of toxicologists, asserts that the symptoms exhibited by victims in Pont-Saint-Esprit were not consistent with this hypothesis.<ref name="Fuller1969">{{cite book |last=Fuller|first=John |title=The Day of St Anthony's Fire |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |year= 1969 |isbn=0-09-095460-2}}</ref> |
Later investigations suggested [[mercury poisoning]] due to the use of [[Panogen]] or other [[fungicide]]s used to treat grains and seeds.<ref>[[Jonathan Ott]], ''Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, their Plant Sources and History'' (Kennewick, W.A.: Natural Products Co., 1993), pg. 145. See also Dr. [[Albert Hofmann]], ''LSD: My Problem Child'' (New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1980), [http://www.lycaeum.org/books/books/my_problem_child/chapter1.html Chapter 1: "How LSD Originated," pg. 6.]</ref> [[Paranormal]] researcher [[John G. Fuller]], citing the opinion of toxicologists, asserts that the symptoms exhibited by victims in Pont-Saint-Esprit were not consistent with this hypothesis.<ref name="Fuller1969">{{cite book |last=Fuller|first=John |title=The Day of St Anthony's Fire |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |year= 1969 |isbn=0-09-095460-2}}</ref> The mercury poisoning theory has also been "ruled out".<ref name="ABC2010" /> |
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==Aspergillus fumigatus theory== |
==Aspergillus fumigatus theory== |
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Revision as of 13:11, 2 October 2015
The 1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning, also known as Le Pain Maudit was a mass poisoning on 15 August 1951, in the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in southern France. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in asylums and 7 deaths. A foodborne illness was suspected, and among these it was originally believed to be a case of "cursed bread" (pain maudit).
Most academic sources accept ergot poisoning as the cause of the epidemic. [1][2][3][4][5], while a few theorize other causes such poisoning by mercury, mycotoxins, or nitrogen trichloride. Fringe theorists have speculated that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) intentionally poisoned the population in order to test a deliriant incapacitating agent during the Cold War.
Ergot Poisoning
"Shortly after the incident, in September 1951, scientists writing in the British Medical Journal declared that “the outbreak of poisoning” was produced by ergot mold.[6] The explanation was based upon the findings of biochemists dispatched to the scene from the nearby Sandoz Chemical Company (now Novartis), based in Basel, Switzerland"[7]
The victims appeared to have one common connection. They had eaten bread from the bakery of Roch Briand who was subsequently blamed for using flour made from rye. According to reports at the time, the flour had been contaminated by a fungus similar to the hallucinogenic drug Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Following several inquiries and court actions, the exact cause of the incident has never been resolved. The baker Roch Briand was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. Problems with the ergot contamination explanation have been challenged and "ruled out" by recent investigators.[8][9]
Mercury poisoning theory
Later investigations suggested mercury poisoning due to the use of Panogen or other fungicides used to treat grains and seeds.[10] Paranormal researcher John G. Fuller, citing the opinion of toxicologists, asserts that the symptoms exhibited by victims in Pont-Saint-Esprit were not consistent with this hypothesis.[11] The mercury poisoning theory has also been "ruled out".[8]
Aspergillus fumigatus theory
In 1982, a French researcher suggested Aspergillus fumigatus, a toxic fungus produced in grain silos, as a potential culprit.[12]
Field test theory
Various theories behind the Pont-Saint-Esprit incident were described in John Grant Fuller Jr.'s 1968 book The Day of Saint Anthony's Fire. Ergot is a precursor to LSD-25 which Fuller strongly suspected was the answer. He notes that a form of ergot was the likely culprit but that we may never know for certain because toxicologists and doctors could not reach an agreement. He concludes his book with a doctor's opinion that "there is one and only one cause of the tragedy: some form of ergot and that form logically has to be akin to LSD."[11]
In 2008, historian Steven Kaplan published his book on the incident in the French Language entitled Le Pain Maudit.[13] Kaplan asserts that the incident was connected neither to LSD research nor to ergot poisoning and supports various other theories.[9]
In his 2009 book, A Terrible Mistake, journalist Hank P. Albarelli Jr alleges that the Special Operations Division of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tested the use of LSD on the population of Pont-Saint-Esprit as part of its MKNAOMI chemical behavior program in a field test dubbed Project SPAN. Albarelli cites numerous declassified U.S. documents—some of which directly mention Pont St. Esprit, that tend to circumstantially support this theory.[8][9] According to Albarelli, ergot poisoning was only a cover story. He notes that "Included in the contingent from Sandoz that suggested ergot contamination in 1951 was Dr. Albert Hofmann, the man who had first synthesized LSD in 1938. Fuller also claimed that[11] at the time of the Sandoz group’s visit to Pont St. Esprit only a handful of scientists worldwide, knew of the existence of the man-made drug LSD. Virtually nobody in France in 1951, apart from a few officials at Sandoz Chemical, was aware that the company was supplying the CIA with quantities the drug, and consulting with the agency on possible defensive and offensive uses for LSD, including secret experimentation in the United States and Europe."[7]
Kaplan has dismissed Albarelli's theories and assertions.[14][15] Both authors agree that ergot contamination is not the explanation for the incident and that more research surrounding the event should be conducted by the Government of France.[9]
Nitrogen trichloride theory
Steven Kaplan's book entitled Le Pain Maudit argues that the poisoning might have been caused by nitrogen trichloride used to artificially (and illegally) bleach flour.[13][16]
References
- ^ "Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit". British Medical Journal. 2 (4732): 650–651. 15 September 1951. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.930.650-a. PMC 2069953. PMID 14869677.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Stanley Finger (2001). Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function. Oxford University Press. pp. 221–. ISBN 978-0-19-514694-3. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Jeffrey C. Pommerville; I. Edward Alcamo (15 January 2012). Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology: Body Systems Edition. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. pp. 734–. ISBN 978-1-4496-0594-0. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Istituto internazionale di storia economica F. Datini. Settimana di studio; Simonetta Cavaciocchi (2010). Economic and biological interactions in pre-industrial Europe, from the 13th to the 18th century. Firenze University Press. pp. 82–. ISBN 978-88-8453-585-6. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Frederick Burwick (1 November 2010). Poetic Madness and the Romantic Imagination. Penn State Press. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-0-271-04296-1. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BMJ1951was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Albarelli, Hank P. Jr. (16 March 2010). "CIA: What Really Happened in the quiet French village of Pont-Saint-Esprit". voltairenet.org. Voltaire Network. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ a b c SCHPOLIANSKY, CHRISTOPHE (23 March 2010). "Did CIA Experiment LSD on French Town?". ABCnews.com. ABC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d Thomson, Mike (23 August 2010). "Pont-Saint-Esprit poisoning: Did the CIA spread LSD?". BBC.com. BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ Jonathan Ott, Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, their Plant Sources and History (Kennewick, W.A.: Natural Products Co., 1993), pg. 145. See also Dr. Albert Hofmann, LSD: My Problem Child (New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1980), Chapter 1: "How LSD Originated," pg. 6.
- ^ a b c Fuller, John (1969). The Day of St Anthony's Fire. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-095460-2.
- ^ Moreau, C. (1982). "Les mycotoxines neurotropes de l'Aspergillus fumigatus; une hypothèse sur le "pain maudit" de Pont-Saint-Esprit". Bulletin de la Société Mycologique de France (98): 261–273.
- ^ a b Kaplan, Steven (2008). Fayard (ed.). Le Pain Maudit. ISBN 978-2-213-63648-1.
- ^ "Café crimes: L'affaire de Pont-Saint-Esprit" (in French). Europe 1. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ Josset, Christophe (12 March 2010). "Did the CIA poison a French town with LSD?". France 24. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ Quand le pain empoisonne, La Vie des idées, 2008-09-03 (in French)