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C DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service

 

  

Centers for Disease Control
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January 19, 1981

Joshua Lederberg, Ph.D.
President

The Rockefeller University
1230 York Avenue

New York, New York 10021

 

Dear Dr. Lederberg:

Thank you very much for your recent note regarding the Editorial Note in
the MMWR relating to the treatment of lionfish stings. The member of our
staff who wrote this Editorial Note several years ago is overseas in Dacca
at this time, so it has been a little difficult for us to locate the presumed
bibliographic reference relating to the use of magnesium sulphate in the
treatment of lionfish stings. However, in all probability, the reference
was the book "Poisoning" by Jay M. Arena, 3rd edition, Charles Thomas,
Springfield, Illinois, 1974, pp 536-537. You will note in that reference
that magnesium sulphate was considered to be useful in the treatment of
venomous fish stings--which presumably would include the lionfish. No
specific statement was made regarding its pain relieving capacity, but
this presumably was the inference drawn by Dr. Glass, who prepared the
Editorial Note for us.

I hope this answers your question. I think we all agree this is not a
carefully, well documented statement, and because'of that we should have
qualified it in some fashion.

Again, thank you for your obvious interest in the MMWR and bringing this
point to our attention.

Sincerely yours,
Mechak £, Meyy
Michael B. Gregg, M.D. LA

Editor
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

ol

ec:
Roger I.M. Glass, M.D.