How does vx kill

So potent is VX that the UN classifies it as a weapon of mass destruction. VX works by penetrating the skin and disrupting the transmission of nerve impulses. Exposure to VX may result in convulsions, loss of consciousness, paralysis and fatal respiratory failure. Hiroyuki Nagaoka, who was attacked with VX by members of a Japanese cult in see below , described the experience to public broadcaster NHK. Nagaoka said he was walking in Tokyo when a cult member sprayed the nerve agent on the back of his neck.

Most of it was blocked by his jacket collar. He finished walking home but about half an hour later realised everything seemed to be oddly dark, an effect of the toxin causing his pupils to shrink. But this was not apparent in the grainy CCTV footage and attention quickly turned to what poison may have been to be so quick acting. Suggestions were made that some form of cyanide may have been used or more speculatively ricin. The media in Japan suggested tetrodotoxin as the agent.

Ten milligrams is enough to kill a person through skin contact although it can also kill through inhalation. One of the women involved in the attack subsequently fell ill too.

However, a more sophisticated attack may have taken place. That would explain how they could have handled the cloths with impunity. The Malaysian authorities made several arrests, while other suspects have fled. The primary suspect is a woman in her 20s holding a Vietnamese passport in the name of Doan Thi Huong.

Shoko Asahara, the founder of the Aum cult, killed at least one person with VX and many more with sarin. One undisputed use of the agent occurred when Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, synthesized VX in the early s and used the nerve gas to kill an office worker in Osaka. His cult injured two other people in a separate incident.

The cult leader became infamous for releasing a sarin gas in the Tokyo subway station in The attack killed 13 commuters and injured more than 1, VX is an oily liquid. It usually enters the body through skin contact. Although it is considerably more dangerous when inhaled, the work involved in getting VX into an aerosol form is much more difficult for a potential assassin than spraying the liquid.

The substance enters the body fairly quickly. Once in the body, the compound blocks the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which is essential for the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the synapses of the autonomic nervous system and in other parts of the nervous systems that control muscles. As a result, the nerves are constantly being agitated. A victim's nose runs, eyes hurt and vision is impaired.

They also have difficulty breathing, start salivating, get muscle cramps, sweat heavily, vomit, lose consciousness, stop breathing and die. Join ST's Telegram channel here and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. We have been experiencing some problems with subscriber log-ins and apologise for the inconvenience caused. Until we resolve the issues, subscribers need not log in to access ST Digital articles. But a log-in is still required for our PDFs.

Skip to main content. Malaysian police said on Friday Feb 24 that VX was found on the body of Mr Kim Jong Nam and they are investigating how the chemical entered the country.

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