EXPERTS have called for a ban on the sale of mothballs containing the chemical naphthalene, warning that they pose a risk of severe blood problems and even brain damage for significant numbers of Australian babies.
About 5 per cent of Australians of Asian, African, Middle Eastern or Mediterranean descent have an inherited enzyme deficiency, and affected babies can suffer blood-cell breakdown if placed too close to fabrics stored with naphthalene mothballs.
In severe cases this causes jaundice and the yellow pigment linked to jaundice, called bilirubin, can build up in the brain. This causes a condition called kernicterus, triggering neurological problems and sometimes brain damage.
Australians of predominantly Anglo-Saxon or indigenous background are less commonly affected, but naphthalene can also cause red cell breakdown in those without the G6PD deficiency.
In a letter to the Medical Journal of Australia published today, three pediatric experts from Sydney and one from Christchurch say at least three babies suffered from the brain complications in the past three years.
William Tarnow-Mordi, director of the Westmead International Network for Neonatal Education and Research at the University of Sydney, said affected babies could develop massive breakdown of their red blood cells within hours of being wrapped in clothing stored with mothballs containing naphthalene.
“The lifetime costs of caring for a baby with kernicterus are many millions of dollars,” Professor Tarnow-Mordi said.
“Kernicterus has occurred in at least three babies with G6PD deficiency in Australia in the last three years, one of whom died. One of the cases was associated with exposure to naphthalene.”
The European Union banned the supply of naphthalene products in 2008, and Professor Tarnow-Mordi said he and other experts were working with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to see whether similar action should be taken in Australia.
Safer alternative products to ward off moths, including camphor, sandalwood and lavender, have been introduced by British department stores.
“Health authorities in Australia already inform parents about the dangers of mothballs with naphthalene. Without further measures, more babies could sustain brain damage or die,” he said.
“A total ban on mothballs with naphthalene may now be the safest course.”
Naphthalene mothball packaging is required to carry warnings the product is harmful to children. But the MJA letter said neonatal experts meeting in Melbourne last year agreed the warnings were insufficient, and called on the APVMA to follow the EU lead.
Adam Cresswell
The Australian