Acephate ingestion in rats caused depression, decreased food consumption, lethargy, diarrhea, excess salivation, urinary incontinence, tremors, ataxia, and collapse. Signs in survivors resolved within eight days of administration.
Acephate ingestion in beagle dogs resulted in muscular tremors, diarrhea, emesis, dyspnea, ataxia, clonic convulsions and bloody diarrhea until six hours after acephate administration.
Dermal exposure to acephate on rabbits caused tremors, diarrhea and dermal redness and inflammation of the treated skin.
Acephate inhalation in rats caused excess salivation, tremors, ataxia and lethargy. Signs resolved within four days of administration.
Signs of toxicity noted in birds were incoordination, depression, shortness of breath, feather puffing, dropped wings, falling rigidly with outspread wings, lying down, tremors, and convulsions. Signs and death have been observed as soon as 30 minutes and five hours, respectively, after acute ingestion.
Signs of Toxicity - Humans
Symptoms appear rapidly if the organophosphates are inhaled, somewhat slower if ingested, and more delayed following dermal exposure. Symptoms from organophosphates can become apparent within minutes to hours after exposure, depending on the exposure route.
Symptoms include headache,nausea, dizziness and confusion.
Incident reports to the EPA about exposure to acephate-containing pesticides were most frequently associated with gastrointestinal, neurological, respiratory, or dermal symptoms
such as nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, tremors, tachycardia, sweating, disorientation, coughing, wheezing, congestion, and pneumonia. Skin irritation and reactions such as swelling, hives, redness, and rashes have also been reported.
Overexcitation of central nervous system from organophosphates may result in moodiness or agitation, confusion, lethargy, weakness, convulsions, incoordination, memory loss, cyanosis or coma.
When the muscarinic receptors are over-excited in the parasympathetic nervous system, cholinergic signs and symptoms including abdominal cramps and diarrhea, hyper-
secretion, urination, tightening of the bronchi, decreased or increased heart rate, and miosis may occur.
Severe exposures to acephate can cause respiratory paralysis and death.
Children can experience different symptoms than adults if exposed to organophosphates, including seizures, lethargy, and
coma, flaccid muscle weakness, miosis and excessive salivation.
