Deadly compounds, but no magic bullets

IT is dangerous for Seán McGovern (Letters, May 31) to claim it would take a very large dose of rodenticide to kill a human; the fatal dose for Warfarin is less than 1/10th gram – it is more poisonous to other species than rodents.

There were 18,011 cases of rodenticide poisoning in humans in the US in 2005, and it is the most common form of poisoning in cats and dogs.

He refers to “old-style lethal poisons”, but modern poisons are lethal too; they wouldn’t be much good if they weren’t.

The diseases he mentions are transmitted almost entirely by food animals, and bubonic plague was eradicated in Ireland four centuries ago.

Zoonoses paranoia is endemic in Ireland; many people won’t allow cats and dogs in their houses. They are banned from anywhere selling food, and you cannot even take a dog on a bus or train.

In Britain you can travel anywhere with a dog and in France you can take a dog into most hotels and restaurants.

Regarding ignorant belief in magic chemical bullets, as an example, Ireland is the worst country in the world for deliberately poisoning the public water supply with fluoride, which is carcinogenic and has no beneficial effect.

Despite human transmission, pollution and degeneration accounting for 99.99% of disease, superstition still prevails.

Michael Job

Rossnagrena

Glengarriff

Co Cork