Americans likely poisoned in Russia hospitalized in U.S.

Story Highlights

• Mother, daughter might have been sickened by thallium in Russia
• Thallium poisoning symptoms: dehydration, heart complications, hair loss
• Tasteless metal originally thought behind ex-KGB agents poisoning last year

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Two American women who were hospitalized in Moscow earlier this week with possible thallium poisoning were in fair but stable condition Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, the hospital said.

Marina Kovalevsky, 42, and her daughter Yanna, 26, were released Wednesday from the Sklifosovsky Clinic in Moscow. (Read full story)

Thallium is a colorless, odorless and tasteless metal which, even ingested in small amounts, can be deadly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cedars-Sinai spokeswoman Cynthia Harding issued a statement Thursday saying the two women arrived at the hospital's emergency department about 6:20 p.m. Wednesday and were admitted after evaluations from emergency doctors.

"It is still too early to determine exactly what may have caused their illness, but at this point there does not appear to be any radiation involved," the Cedars-Sinai statement said.

"They are currently receiving tests to determine the diagnosis; however, they are both being treated for presumptive thallium poisoning."

The two are expected to remain hospitalized for a few more days, the statement said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow told CNN that Russian authorities were investigating how the women may have been poisoned. Typical symptoms of thallium poisoning include dehydration, heart complications and hair loss.

Thallium was originally believed to be what sickened ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. He died in London in November of polonium-210 poisoning, according to British authorities who opened a murder inquiry into the case.

Before he died, Litvinenko accused the Kremlin of orchestrating his poisoning on orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin, a charge that Putin has strongly denied.