Last July, 117 patients were admitted to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital with poisoning. The district has long had a high rate of suicide. More recently, however, there has been a rise in suicide attempts involving the ingestion of herbicides. Hospital sources said most of the 117 patients admitted in July had consumed herbicides.

A study has found that paraquat, a highly toxic chemical used as a herbicide in agriculture, has become a serious public health threat in Bangladesh. The study, based on data from 10 hospitals, found that there was one recorded death from paraquat poisoning in Bangladesh in 2013. By 2024, the number of deaths from poisoning by the same chemical had risen to 212. The use of paraquat as a means of suicide is increasing at an alarming rate in the country. Ingestion can lead to a prolonged and agonising death.

The study, titled “Clinical and Laboratory Profile of Paraquat Poisoning: A Toxicological Crisis in Bangladesh,” was published in May in the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene journal.

Imports and use of paraquat in Bangladesh appear to have increased dramatically. According to National Board of Revenue data, the country imported more than 53 tonnes of paraquat in 2013. By 2023, that figure had risen to 4,695 tonnes. People involved in agriculture say farmers in rural areas are increasingly relying on the chemical instead of manually removing weeds because of labour shortages and rising wages. Yet the toxic chemical has already been banned in 77 countries.

According to the study, researchers identified 1,420 cases of paraquat poisoning in Bangladesh over 12 years.