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Le VX ou l’arme de destruction massive devenue arme d’assassinat ciblé

VX, the weapon of mass destruction used as targeted deathly weapon

  • Cas Clinique Commenté / Commented Case Report
  • Published:
Médecine Intensive Réanimation

Résumé

Le VX est l’agent neurotoxique organophosphoré le plus dangereux, sans doute au moins 100 fois plus toxique que le sarin. Le 13 février 2017 était assassiné, sous le regard ébahi du monde, Kim Jong-Nam, demi-frère du dirigeant nord-coréen Kim Jong-Un à la suite d’une projection intraconjonctivale et cutanée de VX. Cette arme de destruction massive dont la fabrication et la détention est interdite par les conventions internationales, a ainsi été utilisée pour permettre un assassinat politique ciblé d’un nouveau genre. Cet article présente les principales caractéristiques de ce toxique de guerre et les moyens thérapeutiques à notre disposition en cas d’exposition suite à une attaque terroriste.

Abstract

VX is the most dangerous organophosphorous neurotoxic agent, probably 100 times more toxic than the saran. On the 13th February 2017, Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of the North-Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, was assassinated before the astounded eyes of the world. The murderers killed him with an intra-conjunctiva and skin projection of VX. This weapon of mass destruction, whose fabrication and detention is forbidden by the international conventions, was used to produce a new kind of targeted political murder. This article presents the major properties of this war toxicant and describes the different available therapeutic interventions to treat the exposed patients in case of terrorist attack.

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  1. Réanimation médicale et toxicologique, hôpital Lariboisière, INSERM UMRS1144, université Paris-Diderot, 2 rue Ambroise Paré, F-75475, Paris, France

    B. Mégarbane

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  1. B. Mégarbane
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Correspondence to B. Mégarbane.

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Mégarbane, B. Le VX ou l’arme de destruction massive devenue arme d’assassinat ciblé. Méd. Intensive Réa 26, 405–410 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13546-017-1295-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13546-017-1295-7

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