Abrin

Background

Abrin is a natural poison that comes from the seeds of the rosary pea or jequirity pea plant. These seeds are red with a black spot on one end. Abrin is similar to another poison called ricin, which is found in the seeds of the castor bean plant.

Abrin can be made into a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water. Powdered abrin looks yellowish-white in color.

Abrin can last for a long time in the environment, even if it is very hot or cold.

Where it is found

The rosary pea, which is the source of abrin, is commonly found in tropical areas around the world. Rosary pea seeds have also been used to make beaded jewelry. Swallowing the seeds can lead to abrin poisoning.

Abrin has some potential medical uses, such as a treatment to kill cancer cells. Abrin is not known to have been used in any wars or terrorist attacks.

How it works

Abrin makes people sick by getting into the cells of people's bodies and stopping cells from making proteins. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually this hurts the whole body and can lead to death.

Signs and symptoms

Effects of abrin poisoning depend on whether abrin was breathed in, swallowed, or injected. Effects also depend on how much abrin someone was exposed to. Severe cases may affect many organs or cause death..

Showing these signs and symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person has been exposed to abrin.

If breathed in:

• Difficulty breathing
• Coughing
• Fever
• Nausea
• Tightness in the chest
• Heavy sweating

Signs and symptoms are likely to occur within 8 hours of exposure. However, symptoms may also not show up for 1 to 3 days.

Fluid might also build up in the lungs. This would make breathing harder and might turn skin blue. Fluid in the lungs would be found by x-ray or by listening to the chest with a stethoscope.

Finally, low blood pressure and respiratory failure may occur, leading to death.

If swallowed:

• Vomiting and diarrhea that may become bloody
• Severe dehydration
• Low blood pressure
• Hallucinations
• Seizures
• Blood in urine

Signs and symptoms are likely to occur within 8 hours of exposure. However, symptoms may also not show up for 1 to 3 days.

Within several days, the person's liver, spleen, and kidneys might stop working, and the person could die.

Exposed to skin or eyes:

Abrin in the powder or mist form can cause redness and pain in the skin and the eyes.

Exposure

Accidental exposure to abrin is not likely. Getting abrin from rosary pea seeds and using it to harm others would have to be done on purpose. Abrin poisoning cannot be spread from person to person by being near others.

You can be exposed by:

• Breathing abrin if it is in mist or powder form
• Touching surfaces that have abrin on it
• Getting abrin on your skin or eyes
• Swallowing abrin if it is in food or water
• Having abrin injected if it is in the form of liquid or a pellet

A potential clue that people have breathed in abrin is when a large number of people who were close to each other suddenly developed symptoms. Symptoms include fever, cough, and excess fluid in their lungs. These symptoms could be followed by severe breathing problems and possibly death.

There are no widely available or reliable tests that can tell if a person has been exposed to abrin.

What to do if you are exposed

First, get fresh air by leaving the area where the abrin is. Moving to an area with fresh air is a good way to reduce the possibility of death from abrin.

If abrin was released outside, move away from the area. If abrin was released indoors, get out of the building.

Evacuate or "shelter in place"

If you are near an abrin release, emergency teams may tell you to evacuate the area or "shelter in place" inside.

For more information on evacuation during a chemical emergency, visit "Responding to Evacuation."

For more information on sheltering in place during a chemical emergency, visit "Responding to Sheltering in Place."

Take your clothes off

Remove the clothing as quickly as possible. Cut clothes off instead of pulling it over the head. If you are helping others, avoid touching unsafe areas.

Wash your body

Wash any abrin from your skin with lots of soap and water. Washing with soap and water will protect you from any chemicals on your body.

If your eyes are burning or your vision is blurred, rinse your eyes with plain water for 10 to 15 minutes.

If you wear contacts, remove them and put them with the dirty clothing. Do not put the contacts back in your eyes (even if they are not disposable contacts).

If you wear eyeglasses, wash them with soap and water. You can put your eyeglasses back on after you wash them.

Throw your clothes away

After you have washed yourself, place your clothing inside a plastic bag. Avoid touching unsafe areas of the clothing. If you can't avoid touching unsafe areas, or you aren't sure where the unsafe areas are, wear rubber gloves. You can also use tongs, tool handles, sticks, or similar objects to put the clothing in the bag.

Anything that touches the dirty clothing should also be placed in the bag. If you wear contacts, put them in the plastic bag, too.

Seal or tie the bag, and then put that bag inside another plastic bag. Throwing away your clothes this way helps protect you and others from any chemicals that might be on your clothes.

When the local or state health department or emergency team arrive, tell them what you did with your clothes. The health department or emergency team will arrange for further disposal. Do not handle the plastic bags yourself.

For more information about cleaning your body and throwing away your clothes after a chemical exposure, see "About Getting Clean."

Treatment

No cure exists for abrin poisoning, so it is important to avoid abrin exposure. If exposure cannot be avoided, the most important thing is quickly getting the abrin off or out of the body.

In the hospital, abrin poisoning is treated by giving victims supportive medical care to lower the effects of the poisoning. The types of supportive medical care depend on how people were poisoned (breathing in, swallowing, or skin or eye exposure).

Care includes:

• Helping people breathe
• Giving them intravenous fluids (giving fluids to the vein using a needle)
• Giving them medications to treat issues like seizure and low blood pressure
• Giving activated charcoal (if the abrin was very recently swallowed)
• Washing out their eyes with water if their eyes are irritated

More information

You can contact one of the following:

• Regional poison control center: 1-800-222-1222
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Public Response Hotline: 800-CDC-INFO
  • Teletypewriter (TTY) 888-232-6348
  • E-mail inquiries: cdcinfo@cdc.gov