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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Otto Warmbier: US doctors dispute N Korean coma story | Otto Warmbier: US doctors dispute N Korean coma story |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A team of US doctors have found "no sign of botulism" in the American student freed by North Korea after more than 15 months in captivity. | A team of US doctors have found "no sign of botulism" in the American student freed by North Korea after more than 15 months in captivity. |
| The regime had said the 22-year-old Otto Warmbier's coma was caused last year by botulism and a sleeping pill he took after his trial. | The regime had said the 22-year-old Otto Warmbier's coma was caused last year by botulism and a sleeping pill he took after his trial. |
| He has not spoken since his return to his family hometown in Ohio. | He has not spoken since his return to his family hometown in Ohio. |
| "His neurological condition can be best described as a state of unresponsive wakefulness," said Dr Daniel Kanter. | "His neurological condition can be best described as a state of unresponsive wakefulness," said Dr Daniel Kanter. |
| Mr Warmbier "shows no understanding of language" and has "extensive loss of brain tissue" which was likely caused by cardiopulmonary arrest, he said. | Mr Warmbier "shows no understanding of language" and has "extensive loss of brain tissue" which was likely caused by cardiopulmonary arrest, he said. |
| According to scans taken after he arrived at the Cincinnati Medical Center earlier this week, there is no sign that he was physically abused during his detention, his doctors say. | According to scans taken after he arrived at the Cincinnati Medical Center earlier this week, there is no sign that he was physically abused during his detention, his doctors say. |
| Mr Warmbier's condition is "not what we normally see with traumatic brain injury. It's the type we see with cardiopulmonary arrest," Dr Kanter told reporters. | Mr Warmbier's condition is "not what we normally see with traumatic brain injury. It's the type we see with cardiopulmonary arrest," Dr Kanter told reporters. |
| They believe respiratory arrest led to his condition, which is caused by a lack of oxygen and blood in the brain. | They believe respiratory arrest led to his condition, which is caused by a lack of oxygen and blood in the brain. |
| Earlier on Thursday, Mr Warmbier's father expressed doubts about the North Korean account of what caused the University of Virginia student's coma. | Earlier on Thursday, Mr Warmbier's father expressed doubts about the North Korean account of what caused the University of Virginia student's coma. |
| "Even if you believe their explanation of botulism and a sleeping pill causing the coma - and we don't - there's no excuse for a civilised nation to have kept his condition secret and to have denied him top notch medical care." | "Even if you believe their explanation of botulism and a sleeping pill causing the coma - and we don't - there's no excuse for a civilised nation to have kept his condition secret and to have denied him top notch medical care." |
| Otto Warmbier, an economics student from the University of Virginia, was arrested in January 2016 while visiting North Korea as a tourist. | Otto Warmbier, an economics student from the University of Virginia, was arrested in January 2016 while visiting North Korea as a tourist. |
| He was given a 15-year prison sentence for attempting to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel. | He was given a 15-year prison sentence for attempting to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel. |
| What is botulism? | What is botulism? |
| Botulism is a type of poisoning which can cause total body paralysis, difficulty in breathing and death in some cases. | Botulism is a type of poisoning which can cause total body paralysis, difficulty in breathing and death in some cases. |
| It's caused by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria, but the symptoms of botulism are not from the bacteria themselves. | |
| Instead, the microscopic organisms produce a powerful toxin which attacks the nervous system and causes paralysis. | Instead, the microscopic organisms produce a powerful toxin which attacks the nervous system and causes paralysis. |
| That poison is called botulinum - which you may know for its commercial use in Botox, which removes wrinkles by paralysing facial muscles. | That poison is called botulinum - which you may know for its commercial use in Botox, which removes wrinkles by paralysing facial muscles. |
| Botulism is contracted in two ways in adults - by eating food contaminated with the toxin, or through wounds. | Botulism is contracted in two ways in adults - by eating food contaminated with the toxin, or through wounds. |
| The foodborne method happens when the bacteria are tinned or stored in food in another way that deprives them from air (which is when they produce the poison). | The foodborne method happens when the bacteria are tinned or stored in food in another way that deprives them from air (which is when they produce the poison). |
| This rarely happens in modern Western food production, but is what North Korea claims happened to Mr Warmbier. | This rarely happens in modern Western food production, but is what North Korea claims happened to Mr Warmbier. |