P A Desingu points out our investigation finding that routinely washing vegetables and fruits could be protective against acute toxic encephalopathy¹ and suggests that this indicates that an exogenous toxin or agent in unwashed fruits or vegetables, rather than the naturally occurring toxins hypoglycin A and methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG) found in lychees, might be associated with the recurring epidemic toxic encephalopathy in Muzaffarpur. We considered this possibility, and tested extensively for evidence of exogenous agents, such as pesticides and herbicides, in the biological specimens of affected children as well as in fruits, vegetables, and grains collected from affected villages; these results were all consistently negative.

中文翻译：

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例行水果清洗以预防急性中毒性脑病–作者的回复

PA Desingu指出我们的研究发现，常规清洗蔬菜和水果可以预防急性中毒性脑病^1，并表明这表明未清洗的水果或蔬菜中存在外源性毒素或药物，而不是天然存在的毒素低血糖素A和亚甲基环丙基甘氨酸（MCPG）荔枝中发现的）可能与Muzaffarpur的流行性中毒性脑病复发有关。我们考虑了这种可能性，并广泛测试了受影响儿童的生物标本以及从受影响村庄收集的水果，蔬菜和谷物中是否存在外源性因子（例如农药和除草剂）的证据；这些结果一直都是负面的。