Acute respiratory distress in Maniitsoq, Greenland

Background Inhalation of aerosols of surface active substances is a known risk factor for development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). A number of small case series are reported with exposure for aerosols from spraycans with textile or leather protecting agents. We report a series of cases with respiratory symptoms in a group of 39 persons exposed to a floor-sealing product, Anti Fleck Super(R) (AFS). Case: In 2010, a supermarket in the Greenlandic town Maniitsoq, was under renovation. A 300 m2 floor was sprayed with AFS. The spraying created a fog of aerosols of poly-fluorinated silicones. Craftsmen, employees, and customers inhaled the aerosols during a period of minutes to 3 hours. Within hours 39 persons developed cough, dyspnoea and fever in varying degrees. It was necessary to evacuate the 39 patients with progressive symptoms, by airplane from the small hospital in Maniitsoq, to the well-equipped Dronning Ingrids Hospital (DIH), Nuuk. Triage was used.