[Tobra]

Why would somebody be sportin' around with Ricin? Some very nasty stuff that.


(CNN) -- A man who stayed in a Las Vegas hotel room where ricin was found is in critical condition at a hospital, where he has been since February 14, said Kathy Suey, deputy chief of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.


A man is in critical condition after exposure to ricin at a Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel.

Suey said the man called for medical help on February 14, saying he was suffering from respiratory distress, and was transported to the hospital.

A friend or relative of his who came to remove his belongings from the room found the ricin on Thursday, she said.

Police don't suspect foul play in the poisoning, CNN affiliate KLAS reported. The FBI said it was treating the case as a criminal investigation and terrorism was not suspected.

Tests confirm the substance found in the room was ricin, police said.

The reason the substance was in the room is a mystery.

"We don't know who [the ricin] belongs to or why it would be here at this time," said Capt. Joe Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

As little as 500 micrograms of the toxin -- an amount the size of the head of a pin -- can kill an adult. Watch how a minute amount of ricin can kill »

Authorities were called to an Extended Stay America hotel around 3 p.m. PT Thursday after a man brought a bag with a small container to the manager's office. The man said he found it while retrieving items from a hotel room.

The substance is "100 percent ricin," Lombardo said.

Symptoms of ricin poisoning can include anything from difficulty breathing, fever, cough, nausea and sweating to severe vomiting and dehydration.

"We did have enough ricin to be of concern," Lombardo said. Watch police discuss the ricin discovery »

Ricin
Poison made from castor beans
Can be inhaled, swallowed or injected
Prevents cells of a person's body making proteins, can cause death
No antidote
Used in cancer treatment and bone marrow transplants

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Lombardo said areas of the hotel exposed to the toxin have been decontaminated.

Police said they don't know how many people have stayed in the room recently.

The discovery of ricin alarms law-enforcement agencies because authorities in several countries have investigated links between suspect extremists and ricin.

Ricin is a poison that can be made from waste left over after processing castor beans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The toxin can come in the form of a mist or pellet and can be dissolved in water or weak acid, according to the CDC. The agency also said the toxin works by getting inside the cells of a person's body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need.

Lombardo said authorities found castor beans in the room and also powder in a small vial. He said ricin is not illegal to own, but it's illegal if processed to be used for poisoning someone.

Ricin has limited medical uses -- it can be used to kill cancer cells and bone marrow transplants.

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CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, said that while a small amount can kill somebody if injected, tons of it would be needed to use as a mass terrorism tool.

Gupta said there are three ways of exposure to ricin: inhalation, ingestion or injections. If inhaled, people may develop fever, a cough, nausea, fluid in the lungs and organ failure.

There is no specific test for exposure and no antidote once exposed, he said.


There have been other reported cases involving ricin in the United States. In January 2005, the FBI arrested an Ocala, Florida, man with no known ties to terrorists or extremists after agents found ricin in the home he lives in with his mother.

Ricin was found in February 2004 in the mailroom of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. The mailroom handles correspondence addressed to U.S. lawmakers.