[1] Alimentary toxic aleukia manifests in inflammation of the gastric and intestinal mucosa, a severe progressive leukopenia, anemia, and an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

[2] Local and systemic symptoms can appear immediately or several hours after consuming a meal prepared with the toxic wintered grain.

Toxemia manifested as weakness, malaise, rheumatic-like pain, hyperhidrosis, a condition similar to alcohol intoxication, and insomnia.

In such circumstances, the blood count can indicate hematopoiesis alterations as quickly as 1-4 days; this was followed by neutropenia and relative lymphocytosis, thrombocytopenia, and some erythrocyte sedimentation rate acceleration.

[2] Acute symptoms such as rash, hemorrhages, necrotic angina, high temperature, and tachycardia mark the third ATA stage.

The tonsils completely decomposed, followed by acute edema of the laryngeal vestibule and blockage within 3-8 days with necrotic masses and blood clots.

The necrotic fool began to mend and hemorrhages stopped during this pealed; a reduction of fever showed recovery from acute toxemia.

However, lingering toxic symptoms (tachycardia, hypotension, apical systolic murmur, left heart dilatation, dyspnea, weakness, vertigo, gastritis, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, central and vegetative nervous system problems) persisted for an extended period of time.

[2] At the early stages of the condition, therapeutic measures include excluding various wintered grain products and flour from the diet and monitoring erythrocyte, platelet, and leukocyte differential counts.

Early prescription or large doses of sulfamide compounds and adequate antibiotics were required, as well as the use of general and hemopoiesis-stimulated blood transfusion and autohemotherapy, the administration of hemostatic, detoxicating, and cardiovascular activity-stimulating agents, and the local treatment of necrotic foci.

[2] Alimentary toxic aleukia was first characterized in the early 20th century after affecting a large population in the Orenburg Oblast of the former USSR in 1933 and during World War II.