Carbon monoxide poisoning remains a worrying cause of accidental death in Belgium. We find out more.

CO kills 30 people a year

They're worrying figures.

On average, 30 people a year die in Belgium from Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning.

A further 1,500 people are hospitalised each year, some of whom suffer permanent injuries. 

The Belgian government was so worried about the situation that it launched a major public information campaign last year to warn people about the dangers of this odourless, but lethal gas.

Carbon monoxide forms when any product that contains carbon is not burned properly.

If this sounds rather esoteric, it is not.

Incomplete combustion of carbon products occurs regularly in many ordinary household situations, and that's why the gas is so dangerous.

Among the worst culprits when it comes to CO deaths are poorly fitted bathroom water heaters.

These heaters burn heating fuel or more often natural gas — both carbon products — and if they are not installed with adequate ventilation they can be lethal.

Poorly ventilated gas fires, petrol burning heaters or coal fires can be equally dangerous.

A lethal, odourless gas

With winter approaching last October, the Belgian government decided to warn people about the dangers of poorly-fitted heating appliances.

National statistics show that most cases of CO poisoning occur in Belgium between October and April.

Despite the fact there are no figures indicating whether the information campaign led to a reduced number of deaths in the past year, the Belgian government will not repeat the campaign this year.

Instead, it ran an information campaign about fire safety in the house in the first two weeks of September.

However, CO poisoning remains a worrying cause of accidental death in Belgium and the government is still distributing brochures on request, for example, to the nation's hospitals.

The danger of  CO poisoning

The danger of CO poisoning is that in its early stages it is hard to detect and when it is clear there is a problem it could well be too late.

Low levels of CO in the air can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, all symptoms that can also be associated with many other winter ailments such as the flu or stomach bugs.

If CO levels in the air continue to rise a victim can lose consciousness and fall into a coma.

At this point, if emergency help does not arrive rapidly, it is very likely that the victim will die.

Prevention

The best way to prevent possible CO poisoning is to ensure that any water heaters or carbon burning fires you have in your home are properly ventilated and regularly serviced by qualified personnel.

"The only way to prevent poisoning is to have a heating and hot water system that is properly installed and maintained," Dr Martine Mostin, head of Belgium's national anti-poisons centre told 'La Derniere Heure' newspaper.

"Appliances should be connected to properly adapted chimneys and the rooms they are in must be properly ventilated".

For people who live in apartment blocks, it can sometimes be particularly hard to find out whether a gas fire or water heater is properly ventilated.

This is because they will often not be able to, for example, access chimneys that are supposed to carry waste gases out of their building.

In cases where the building is owned by a landlord they should ensure that he or she has had the necessary maintenance work carried out.

In blocks where all of the residents share the cost of general repairs on the building, they make sure maintenance on things such as chimneys is not skimped on in a bid to save a few euros.

If you think someone is suffering from CO poisoning call the emergency services immediately. Dial 100 or 112 and tell the operator you think it is a case of CO poisoning.

In French the phrase for this is "une intoxication au monoxyde de carbone."

In Dutch it is a "koolstofmonoxide-vergiftiging."

More Information

The government's leaflet on CO poisoning can be downloaded in French or Dutch from the Interior Ministry website.

First published October 2004, updated October 2005

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Belgium, health, carbon monoxide