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Deaths due to Unintentional Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Summary Indicator Report Data View Options

Why Is This Important?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless poisonous gas produced by the incomplete burning of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. Unintentional CO exposure to people most frequently occurs due to improper ventilation, and or inhalation of exhaust fumes from vehicles, generators, gas furnaces or heaters. CO poisoning can also occur in combination with smoke inhalation and burns during residential fires. While most CO poisoning can be prevented, every year more than 500 Americans die as a result of exposure to this toxic gas. Thousands of Americans annually need to get medical care for non-fatal CO poisonings. Symptoms of CO exposure may include: headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness and confusion. At high levels, CO poisoning causes loss of consciousness and death. Survivors of severe poisoning may suffer long-term neurological problems. CO poisoning can be prevented by the installation of CO detectors/alarms and the proper maintenance of heating systems.

Definition

Deaths due to unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning from fire, non-fire or unknown causes

Data Sources

How the Measure is Calculated

Numerator:Number of deaths due to unintentional CO poisoning
Denominator:Estimated number of persons in the population

How Are We Doing?

Between 2000 and 2019, death rates due to unintentional CO poisoning (and CO poisoning of unknown intent) have shown variation between 0 to 0.14 per 100,000 residents across all events (fire, non-fire and unknown intent).

What Is Being Done?

The NJ Division of Consumer Affairs in the Office of the Attorney General provides guidance on the prevention of carbon monoxide poisoning on their web site: [http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/News/Consumer%20Briefs/carbon-monoxide-poisoning.pdf#search=carbon%20monoxide]

Health Program Information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a variety of important information on the prevention of CO poisoning: [https://www.cdc.gov/carbon-monoxide/factsheets/]

Indicator Data Last Updated On 05/23/2024, Published on 05/24/2024
Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health, PO Box 360, Trenton, NJ 08625-0360, e-mail: chs@doh.nj.gov (https://www.nj.gov/health/chs)