Two men suffered accidental carbon monoxide poisoning (CO1) when preparing breakfast in the kitchen of a drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation centre in the hamlet of Ka Ho in Coloane on Saturday, the Health Bureau (SSM) has announced.
An SSM statement on Saturday identified the venue where the case occurred as the centre run by the Association of Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers of Macau (ARTM), located on Estrada de Nossa Senhora de Ká Hó.
The statement did not identify whether the duo are the facility’s staff or users.
According to the statement, the two local men, aged 46 and 50, switched on two gas hobs in the kitchen at around 7 a.m. on Saturday and cooked breakfast. Half an hour later, the statement said, the duo felt dizzy and nauseous, and one of them passed out. He woke up “after losing consciousness for a moment”.
The statement said that social workers in the centre called an ambulance, which took the two men to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre for emergency treatment.
The two men were diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning, after which they were transferred to the private Kiang Wu Hospital where they were hospitalised for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).
Both were in a stable condition at the time of Saturday’s statement.
The statement said that the kitchen’s door and window were both open when the case occurred, but neither the kitchen hood nor ventilator were switched on.
Consequently, the statement said, the Health Bureau preliminarily concluded that the incident was caused by poor ventilation, allowing toxic gas to accumulate.
Image courtesy of US CDC
