Near fatal ingestion of household lamp oil--Ohio, August 1997.

Unintentional poisoning from liquid fuels accounts for approximately 2.5% of all unintentional poisoning exposures among children aged <6 years. The risk for unintentional poisoning increases when fuel is transferred from its original container, often with required child-resistant packaging, to other containers (e.g., fuel lamps) without special packaging requirements. This report describes the poisonings of four children who were admitted to a regional referral medical center in Columbus, Ohio, during a 2-week period in August 1997; these children developed serious pulmonary complications after ingesting household lamp oil.