Mercury Poisoning at a Home Day Care Center - Hillsborough County, Florida, 2015.

ABSTRACT

On November 12, 2015, the Florida Poison Information Center Tampa notified the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County of a boy aged 3 years with a urine mercury level of 79 µg/L (normal <10 µg/L). The patient had been admitted to the hospital on October 9, 2015 after a 3-4 week history of anorexia, weight loss, and lethargy. In the hospital, he developed a maculopapular rash, acrodynia (painful, pink discoloration of the hands and feet), tachycardia, hypertension, weakness, sweating, excessive salivation, and altered mental status. Subsequent investigation identified the source of the mercury exposure to be a broken sphygmomanometer (blood pressure monitor) at the home day care center attended by the child.