Outbreak: Thebaine Poisoning from Poppy Seed Tea in Australia
In November 2022, hospitals across Australia began seeing patients with sudden rigidity, spasms, seizures—and in some cases cardiac arrest—after drinking homemade poppy seed tea. The source? Food-shelf poppy seeds contaminated with extraordinarily high levels of thebaine, an opioid alkaloid that acts nothing like morphine. In this Outbreak episode, host Ryan Feldman, clinical toxicologist and emergency medicine pharmacist, investigates how pharmaceutical-grade, thebaine-rich poppy seeds were mistakenly repackaged into the food supply—and how poison centers, clinicians, labs, and public health teams traced and contained the threat within days.You’ll hear firsthand from the experts who responded:Dr. Katherine Isoardi, Emergency Physician, Clinical Toxicologist, Medical Director, Queensland Poisons Information CentreDr. Amanda Holford, Clinical Toxicology Fellow & Emergency Physician, Princess Alexandra HospitalDr. Darren Roberts, Medical Director, NSW Poisons Information Centre; Nephrologist; Clinical PharmacologistTogether, they walk us through the outbreak timeline—from the first ICU cases and puzzling “strychnine-like” neuroexcitation to the multi-state investigation, product recall, and lessons for future foodborne poisonings.Looking for timestamps?A fully timestamped version—so you can jump to any topic—is available to our supporting members.💡 Key topics:Clinical presentation of thebaine toxicity (rigidity, spasms, seizures, metabolic acidosis) and how it differs from classic opioid effectsWhy thebaine behaves like a glycine receptor antagonist (strychnine-like) rather than a sedating mu agonistHow early-warning networks (e.g., PRISE in NSW; EDNA in QLD), poison centers, and forensic labs coordinated a rapid responsePublic health trace-back: mislabeled/repacked pharmaceutical poppy seeds entering the food supply; national recallsPractical ED management pearls (benzodiazepines, airway/ICU support; recognizing recurrent symptoms) and communication pitfalls during mass poisonings📍 Resources & Mentions:Dr. Isoardi led case series on thebaine-contaminated poppy seeds (Queensland Health, NSW Health)Dr. Roberts led kinetics study on thebainePrior Poison Lab Outbreak episode: Markham Aconite Poisoning🎧 Listen now: www.ThePoisonLab.com💬 Have thoughts or questions?Instagram @tox_talk • Twitter @LabPoison • Email [email protected]: The Poison Lab is for educational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. If you suspect a poisoning, contact your local poison center. In the U.S., call 1-800-222-1222.Support the showReview the show where ever your listeningGet Messages from Toxo (Join the Newsletter!)Join as a supporting memberAd free episodesBonus content and early accessDiscounts and give aways on GOTA PICCEM Mushroom card gameThe GOTTA PICCEM Poisonous Mushroom Game!The Poisonus Fungus Amongus Children's Book!Full book reading (6 minutes!)Tox trinkets (Rep the show at home!)Reach the showEmail: [email protected] Show ResourcesRyan's Medical Games and ResourcesShow Website
